The idea here is that people may need some technological help to limit the amount of time they spend on their smartphones. Adding more control over screen time can only help the company avoid the same fate as Apple, which has been warned by its own investors that kids are overusing iPhones. Apple responded with a commitment to improving its mobile parental control systems.

Google already has Family Link, a set of mobile tools that let parents manage the time their kids can spend on apps, including an option to lock their children's devices, a feature Apple's OS does not have. Expanding similar options to adults can only help manage the public perception of Google as a mobile device maker. According to the Post's sources, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai is set to focus on the theme of responsibility instead of straight technology (though surely there will be plenty of that).