Quick answer: on a Windows 11 laptop, open Settings → System → Power & battery → Battery usage to see screen-on time and how much battery each app used over the last 24 hours or 7 days. On Windows 10, the same information lives under Settings → System → Battery. For your real active time per app, plus daily limits, use a free app such as Pulse.
Laptops have one small advantage over desktops: because they run on a battery, Windows keeps track of when the screen was on. That's the closest thing to a built-in screen time report you'll find on a PC.
Check screen time on a Windows 11 laptop
- Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Go to System → Power & battery.
- Open Battery usage.
- Switch between Last 24 hours and Last 7 days.
You'll see your screen-on time and a list of apps with the share of battery each one used.
Check screen time on a Windows 10 laptop
Open Settings → System → Battery. Windows 10 shows a simpler version of the same idea: which apps used your battery recently. It's a starting point, but it has the same blind spots as the Windows 11 page.
What the battery page can't tell you
The Battery usage page is a useful hint, but it was built to explain battery drain, not to show how you spend your time.
- Screen-on is not the same as using it. If you walk away and the screen stays on until it sleeps, those minutes still count.
- Battery share is not time. A game that works your laptop hard can use more battery in 20 minutes than a document you edited all afternoon.
- Background apps get counted too. An app syncing in the background uses battery even when you never looked at it.
- There are no limits. You can see the numbers, but you can't do anything with them.
- Desktops don't have it. If you also use a desktop PC, there's no Battery usage page there at all.
Other places Windows shows screen time
Microsoft Family Safety reports screen time and sets limits, but only for a child account in a Microsoft family group. You can't use it for your own account.
Focus in the Windows 11 Clock app runs a timer and silences notifications. It's handy for getting started on a task, but it doesn't track or limit apps.
We compare all of these in more detail in Digital Wellbeing for PC.
See per-app screen time with Pulse
Pulse is a free, open-source app that adds phone-style Digital Wellbeing to Windows 11 and 10, on laptops and desktops alike.
- Install it from the download page or the Microsoft Store. It doesn't need admin rights or an account, and .NET is included.
- Use your laptop as normal. Pulse sits in the system tray. After 5 minutes without input it stops counting, unless you're watching or listening to something, and it pauses while your laptop is locked or asleep.
- Open the dashboard to see today's screen time, your top apps and how often you switched between them. Page back through past weeks to spot a pattern.
Because Pulse counts the app in front, not the battery it used, the numbers line up with what you actually did. Everything stays in a local database on your laptop. Nothing is uploaded, and there's no telemetry.
Prefer a terminal? Type pulse today in Terminal or PowerShell to see today's screen time and top apps. More on the command line.
Set limits on your laptop
Once you know where the time goes, you can do something about it:
- App limits give an app a daily allowance, unavailable hours, or both. When time is up, Pulse reminds you or minimizes the app. Only time with the app in front counts.
- Focus sessions run for 15 to 90 minutes or your own length. In Block mode, apps you tagged as Entertainment are minimized until the timer ends.
- Break reminders follow the 20-20-20 rule, which matters more on a small laptop screen you hold close.
Our guide to setting app time limits on Windows walks through a limit step by step.
Common questions
Can I see screen time on a laptop without installing anything?
Yes, roughly. Windows 11 shows screen-on time under Settings → System → Power & battery → Battery usage, and Windows 10 shows battery use by app under Settings → System → Battery. Neither shows how long you actually used each app.
Why does Pulse show less screen time than Battery usage?
Pulse stops counting after 5 minutes without keyboard or mouse input, unless you're watching or listening to something, and it pauses while the laptop is locked or asleep. Battery usage counts the screen being on, even if you weren't there.
Does Pulse work on Windows 10 laptops?
Yes. Pulse runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11, on laptops and desktops.
Can I set a daily screen time goal on my laptop?
Yes. Set a daily screen-time goal in Pulse and a ring on the dashboard shows how close you are. The weekly report compares this week with the last.
Built into Pulse
Track screen time, focus and breaks on Windows. Free, open source, no account.