[Update: APK] Samsung launches Thrive for Galaxy Note 8 to let users take control of their personal time

Samsung today launched the Thrive app for the Galaxy Note 8 to help users take control of their personal time in partnership with Thrive Global. The app is developed by Thrive Global, a company founded by Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post fame. The wellness-focused company developed this app to help users disconnect from their smartphone and reconnect with their life.

The Thrive app was first introduced in October last year in beta. It’s rolling out today exclusively for the Galaxy Note 8 and will be released for other Galaxy models in the future.

A fancier version of the Do Not Disturb button

“Partnering to help create the THRIVE App is just one of the many ways Samsung is committed to developing technology that helps people make the most of every moment in their lives,” said Samsung Electronics America CMO Marc Mathieu.

The Thrive app lets users put their handset in “Thrive Mode.” This mutes all notifications, calls and texts except from people that are in the VIP list. When the handset is in Thrive Mode, all texts will automatically be responded with a message which informs the sender that the person they’re trying to reach is in Thrive Mode.

As we said back when this app was first introduced, it’s basically a fancier version of the Do Not Disturb button that you can already find on your Samsung device. There’s just one core feature that Thrive offers to set itself apart from that button.

It has an App Control dashboard which informs users how much time they’ve spent on a particular app. They can use this knowledge to decide whether or not they want to set goals and limits for certain apps.

Galaxy Note 8 owners can now download Thrive for free from Galaxy Apps.

Update: Thrive for Galaxy Note 8 is now available for download from our APK page.