Clinical Reference
Android phone settings for occupational therapy
Settings organized by clinical use case — visual sensitivity, vestibular processing, attention regulation, auditory processing, haptic sensitivity, and motor control. Each entry includes the navigation path, expected effect, and relevant conditions.
How to use this reference
This page lists Android settings relevant to occupational therapy practice, organized by the clinical presentation rather than by app. Each setting includes the exact navigation path on a stock Android device (Pixel / Android 14+), what the setting does, and which conditions it applies to.
Settings can be changed manually by following the navigation paths below. TrueTo applies groups of these settings automatically — one tap configures all relevant settings across all apps at once. Every change is individually reversible.
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Visual sensitivity and photophobia
Relevant conditions: Migraines, concussion/TBI recovery, autism (visual processing), photosensitive epilepsy
These settings reduce screen brightness below the OS minimum, shift color temperature away from blue-heavy light, and remove high-contrast visual elements. Useful when a client reports screen-related headaches, eye strain, or light-triggered episodes.
| Setting | Navigation path | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Dim | Settings → Accessibility → Extra Dim | Dims the screen below the standard brightness slider minimum. Adjustable intensity. Useful during migraine episodes or in dark-adapted environments. |
| Night Light | Settings → Display → Night Light | Shifts screen color temperature toward warm amber, reducing blue light output. Can be scheduled (sunset/sunrise) or set to always-on during recovery periods. |
| Dark theme | Settings → Display → Dark theme | Switches the OS and supported apps to light-on-dark rendering. Reduces overall light emission. Most effective on OLED screens where dark pixels are fully off. |
| High contrast text | Settings → Accessibility → Display → High contrast text | Increases text contrast against backgrounds. Helpful for clients who need to read in reduced-brightness conditions without losing legibility. |
| Font size | Settings → Display → Font size | Scales text across the OS and most apps. Reduces the need to hold the phone close to the face, which can reduce eye strain and vestibular load. |
| Spotify Canvas Spotify | Spotify → Profile picture → Settings and privacy → Content and display → Canvas | Disables looping background videos on the Spotify playback screen. Removes involuntary motion stimulus during audio-only use. |
Motion sensitivity and vestibular processing
Relevant conditions: Vestibular disorders, BPPV, concussion/TBI recovery, motion sickness, autism (vestibular processing)
These settings reduce or eliminate on-screen motion: transitions, parallax scrolling, auto-playing video, and animated UI elements. Relevant when a client reports screen-triggered dizziness, nausea, or disorientation.
| Setting | Navigation path | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Remove Animations | Settings → Accessibility → Remove Animations | Disables system-level transition animations. Affects app switching, menu opening, and scrolling behaviors. Single most impactful motion reduction setting. |
| Animation duration scales (Developer Options) | Settings → Developer Options → Window / Transition / Animator duration scale | Controls the speed of remaining animations. Setting to 0.5× halves duration; setting to "off" removes them entirely. Developer Options must be enabled first (Settings → About phone → tap Build number 7 times). Requires enabling Developer Options first. |
| Autoplay next video (YouTube) YouTube | YouTube → Profile picture → Settings → Playback → Autoplay next video | Stops YouTube from automatically starting the next video. Removes unexpected motion onset during browsing. |
| Playback in feeds (YouTube) YouTube | YouTube → Profile picture → Settings → General → Playback in feeds | Stops videos from auto-playing as you scroll through the YouTube home feed. Prevents motion stimulus before a viewing decision is made. |
| Autoplay videos (Reddit) Reddit | Reddit → Profile → Settings → Autoplay | Disables automatic video playback in the Reddit feed. Videos remain available on tap but do not start on their own. |
| Spotify Canvas Spotify | Spotify → Profile picture → Settings and privacy → Content and display → Canvas | Disables looping background video on the Spotify playback screen. A common unrecognized motion trigger during audio use. |
| Smooth Display / high refresh rate | Settings → Display → Smooth Display (or Motion smoothness) | Reduces screen refresh rate from 90–120Hz to 60Hz. Lower refresh rate means less fluid motion rendering, which can reduce vestibular response to scrolling. Counterintuitive — smoother feels better but can trigger more. Counterintuitive: smoother display can increase vestibular response. |
Attention regulation and executive function
Relevant conditions: ADHD, autism (attention differences), TBI recovery (cognitive fatigue)
These settings reduce notification interruptions, remove auto-playing content loops, and limit stimulus that competes for attention. Relevant when a client reports difficulty disengaging from their phone, notification overwhelm, or inability to complete intended phone tasks.
| Setting | Navigation path | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Do Not Disturb | Settings → Sound & vibration → Do Not Disturb | Silences all notifications except starred contacts or repeat callers (configurable). Research suggests each notification interruption requires ~23 minutes of recovery time for sustained attention tasks. |
| Per-app notification management | Settings → Notifications → App notifications | Allows disabling notifications on a per-app basis. Useful for removing low-priority interruption sources while keeping essential alerts. |
| Autoplay next video (YouTube) YouTube | YouTube → Profile picture → Settings → Playback → Autoplay next video | Stops the next video from starting automatically. Creates a natural decision point — continue or stop — that autoplay removes. |
| Spotify Canvas Spotify | Spotify → Profile picture → Settings and privacy → Content and display → Canvas | Disables looping video behind songs. Removes visual stimulus that competes with audio for attentional resources. |
| Read Receipts (WhatsApp) WhatsApp | WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy → Read receipts | Hides the blue checkmarks that indicate a message has been read. Removes social pressure to respond immediately, which can be especially acute for individuals with rejection sensitivity. |
| Notification frequency (YouTube) YouTube | YouTube → Profile picture → Settings → Notifications | Reduces notification volume from per-upload to scheduled digest. Limits interrupt frequency from high-volume subscription lists. |
| Notification schedule (Slack) Slack | Slack → Settings → Notifications → Set a notification schedule | Restricts Slack notifications to defined hours. Prevents after-hours interruptions that maintain a sense of always-on availability. |
| Community recommendations (Reddit) Reddit | Reddit → Profile → Settings → General | Disables suggestions for subreddits the user has not joined. Reduces the surface area of potential distraction. |
| Discover / news feed (Chrome) Chrome | Chrome → New tab → Customize → Hide feed | Removes the algorithmically curated news feed from Chrome's new tab page. Prevents derailment at the moment of highest intent (opening a browser to do something specific). |
Auditory sensitivity and processing
Relevant conditions: Autism (auditory processing), hyperacusis, sensory processing disorder, PTSD (sound triggers)
These settings reduce unexpected sounds, notification tones, and audio elements that can cause startle responses or sensory overload.
| Setting | Navigation path | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Do Not Disturb | Settings → Sound & vibration → Do Not Disturb | Silences notification sounds, calls, and alarms (configurable exceptions). The primary tool for reducing unexpected audio stimulus. |
| Notification sounds per-app | Settings → Notifications → App notifications → [App] → Sound | Allows setting silent notifications for individual apps while keeping visual alerts. Useful for maintaining awareness without auditory interruption. |
| Touch sounds | Settings → Sound & vibration → Touch sounds | Disables the clicking sound that plays on every screen tap. Removes a persistent low-level auditory stimulus. |
| Live Caption | Settings → Accessibility → Live Caption | Adds real-time captions to any media playing on the phone. Allows clients to consume audio content visually when auditory processing is overwhelmed or in environments where sound needs to be muted. |
| Vibration feedback | Settings → Sound & vibration → Vibration & haptics | Controls or disables haptic feedback on keystrokes, notifications, and system events. For clients who experience vibration as sensory overload. |
Touch and haptic sensitivity
Relevant conditions: Autism (tactile processing), sensory processing disorder, neuropathy
These settings reduce or eliminate vibration and haptic feedback that can be distressing for clients with tactile sensitivity.
| Setting | Navigation path | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Vibration & haptics | Settings → Sound & vibration → Vibration & haptics | Master control for all vibration: notifications, ringtone, touch feedback, and media haptics. Can be reduced in intensity or disabled entirely. |
| Keyboard vibration | Settings → System → Keyboard → Preferences → Vibrate on keypress | Disables the haptic pulse on each keystroke. Affects the default keyboard (Gboard). Third-party keyboards have their own settings. |
| Touch feedback (navigation) | Settings → Sound & vibration → Vibration & haptics → Touch feedback | Disables vibration when using gesture navigation or tapping system buttons. |
Motor planning and fine motor control
Relevant conditions: Cerebral palsy, stroke recovery, Parkinson's, arthritis, developmental coordination disorder
These settings adjust touch sensitivity, increase target sizes, and extend interaction timeouts for clients with limited fine motor control.
| Setting | Navigation path | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Touch & hold delay | Settings → Accessibility → Timing controls → Touch & hold delay | Adjusts how long a press must be held before registering as a long-press. Options: Short, Medium, Long. Longer delay prevents accidental long-press triggers. |
| Time to take action (Accessibility timeout) | Settings → Accessibility → Timing controls → Time to take action | Extends the duration that temporary messages and action prompts remain visible. Useful for clients who need more time to read and respond to on-screen prompts. |
| Font size and Display size | Settings → Display → Font size / Display size | Increases text and UI element size, which effectively increases touch target areas. Larger targets are easier to hit accurately. |
| Power button ends call | Settings → Accessibility → System controls → Power button ends call | Allows ending a phone call by pressing the physical power button instead of tapping a small on-screen target. |
Condition-specific references
For detailed setting lists organized by condition with explanations written for the end user, see these companion pages:
- Settings for ADHD — 26 settings across 8 apps for executive dysfunction, hyperfocus, and notification overload
- Settings for migraines — 18 settings across 8 apps for photophobia, motion sensitivity, and screen-triggered episodes
- Settings for motion sickness — 16 settings across 8 apps for vestibular sensitivity and screen-triggered nausea
- Settings for autism (sensory) — 21 settings across 8 apps for visual, auditory, motion, and haptic sensitivity
Common questions
Is TrueTo a medical device or therapeutic tool?
No. TrueTo is an Android settings configurator. It changes settings that already exist in the OS and in individual apps. It does not monitor health data, deliver therapy, or make clinical recommendations. The settings listed on this page are standard Android features documented by Google and individual app developers.
Can a client undo changes made by TrueTo?
Yes. Every setting TrueTo applies can be individually reversed at any time. Clients can undo one setting, undo everything at once, or pick a different direction entirely. No changes are permanent.
Does TrueTo collect data about the client?
No. TrueTo does not collect, transmit, or store any client data. It has no account system and requires no login. Settings changes happen entirely on the device; there is no TrueTo server.
Can settings be applied on someone else's phone?
Yes. TrueTo runs on the phone where settings need to change. A therapist, caretaker, or family member can apply a configuration on a client's or family member's phone with their consent. The client retains full ability to modify or reverse any setting afterward.
How many apps does TrueTo configure?
TrueTo navigates into 151 Android apps and changes their settings. This includes system-level Android settings and per-app settings in apps like YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, WhatsApp, Chrome, Slack, Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, Gmail, and 141 others.
TrueTo applies these settings across 151 Android apps in one tap. Every change is individually reversible.
Settings paths verified on Pixel / Android 14+. App-level paths may vary by version. Last updated March 2026.