Holidays are for relaxing. Not only to stop going to work but also to disconnect from everything around us to reset our mind and come back after the holidays completely refreshed. However, unless we leave the phone at home, it is very difficult to do so.
Fortunately, there are different methods that we can use to always carry our phone with us and prevent WhatsApp, the most used application on all mobile devices in the world, from being a nuisance by constantly ringing. If you want to know how to disconnect from the digital world during your holidays, here are 5 ways to do it.
Disable notifications
It’s important to know the difference between turning off notifications and silencing them. If we silence notifications, they will still arrive in the app and will be displayed with an icon in the app. In addition, depending on the privacy settings we have set both on the phone and in the app, they may be displayed on the lock screen, inviting us to check them.
On Android, in the Settings menu, go to Notifications > App notifications and where WhatsApp is displayed, deactivate the switch.
To disable iOS notifications, we must access the Notifications section available within the Settings menu and access the WhatsApp section to deactivate them by unchecking the Allow notifications switch.
Stop the application
Another option that we can also use is to stop the app from working so that, when it is closed, it does not show any type of notification until we click on it to make it work again.
To stop the application from running on Android, go to the Settings menu. Then, tap on Applications > See all applications (if WhatsApp is not displayed in the recently opened apps) and tap on WhatsApp. From the three options displayed, tap on Force stop.
On iOS, we must disable background app updates, a feature that is available in the Settings > WhatsApp menu. Within this menu, we must uncheck the Background app updates switch.
Restrict usage time
Both iOS and Android include a feature aimed at the well-being of users, that is, intended to allow users to completely disconnect from certain applications during a specific time. Although it is not the best option to disconnect from WhatsApp, it does allow us to establish a daily schedule in which the application will not show us any type of notification.
On Android, this feature is found in the Settings menu under Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls. Within this menu, tap on App Limits to set limits on the use of WhatsApp and its notifications.
We can also set up Do Not Disturb mode, where we can establish which apps can display notifications and which people can contact us. This mode is found in the Settings > Digital Wellbeing and parental controls > Do Not Disturb menu.
In iOS we can find this function in Settings > Screen Time. Here we must access the Communication Limits section to select which contacts can disturb us and also the Restrictions section, where we can add or delete the applications that, while we have the Screen Time function activated, can send notifications.
On iOS, we can also create Focus Modes, where we can configure which apps can and cannot send notifications while it is activated.
Activate airplane mode
If we don’t want to complicate our lives with iOS and Android settings, the easiest way to avoid receiving WhatsApp messages during our holidays is to activate airplane mode. This way, the phone won’t ring at any time and we will be completely incommunicado, but we will be able to use the camera during our holidays to take photos and have them at hand.
Turn off your phone
But if you really want to rest, the best thing you can do is turn off your phone completely. This is the best way to relax during the holidays. By providing your phone number and the room where you are to your family and friends so they can call you in case of an emergency, it is more than enough to disconnect from the digital life that surrounds us.
