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Android's latest feature reminds you to avoid distracted walking

Heads Up could stop you from walking into a lamp post.

Valeriy_G via Getty Images

Google's latest Digital Wellbeing addition might just save you from a bruised face — or at least, a bruised ego. Jay Prakash Kamat, XDA and CNET have discovered that Google is rolling out a beta Heads Up feature for Android that reminds you to stop using your phone while you're walking. Pull out your device while you walk and you'll get an alert to "look up" and put that device back in your pocket before you smack into a lamp post or another pedestrian.

Tinkerers at XDA first spotted hints of the feature in November, but it hasn't been accessible until now.

Heads Up is so far available only to Pixel users with the latest Digital Wellbeing beta. It's easy to see this being one of the more popular tools once it's more widely available, though. Even if the pandemic didn't require more attentiveness as a general rule, this could encourage you to leave your phone alone until you've reached your destination.

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