Your Pixel phone can now save you from the dangers of distracted walking

The new “Heads Up” feature will remind you to pay attention to what’s around you when you’re walking using your phone.

What you need to know

• Google is rolling out a useful new Digital Wellbeing feature called “Heads Up.”
• The feature will alert you to keep your head up while you’re walking using your phone.
• It is part of the latest Digital Wellbeing beta update for Pixel users.

Google’s Digital Wellbeing app is getting a new feature that aims to prevent users from getting too distracted while walking using their phones. The feature, which is called “Heads Up,” is now rolling out to Pixel users with the latest Digital Wellbeing beta. It was first spotted by XDA Developers in November last year during a teardown of the Digital Wellbeing app beta v1.0.342229637.

Digital Wellbeing add “Heads Up”, a feature that warns you to stop using your phone while you’re walking. @xdadevelopers @thetymonbay @XDA_Forum_Admin @thetymonbay pic.twitter.com/5pEEgwuTMp

— Jay Prakash Kamat (@jay__kamat) April 11, 2021

As you can see in the screenshots above, the feature will send you a reminder to focus on what’s around you while walking. You’ll be to access the new “Heads Up” feature from the Reduce Interruptions section under the Digital Wellbeing app settings. Once you enable the feature, you will see additional settings for managing physical activity and location permissions.

If you have a Google Pixel phone and want to try out the feature, you’ll have to join the beta program from the Play Store and download the latest beta release. The “Heads Up” feature is likely to become available on the best Android phones from other manufacturers as well in the near future. However, there’s no word on exactly when that might happen.