As the Novel Coronavirus pandemic has taken over the world, the only way to stay safe is to wash your hands thoroughly and frequently. The CDC recommends washing hands for at least 20 seconds as it keeps the COVID-19 causing virus off of your hands. Now, WearOS compatible smartwatches will remind you to wash or hands every three hours.

With the latest update to the WearOS platform, Google has taken the initiative to remind smartwatch users to wash their hands. As washing hands is the only to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19, the Mountain View-based tech giant wants its smartwatch users to follow this rule strictly.

The feature comes in the Clock app of the WearOS compatible smartwatches. It will send periodic alerts via your smartwatch and once you interact with it, a 40-second timer will start to countdown. This is the amount of time for which you need to wash their hands. The feature will also show the message – “Always use soap”, to make you extra careful. Once the timer stops, the app will notify you that the alert will be again coming in three hours.

Now, if you think you are someone who will get annoyed with this feature after a few alerts, do not worry. There is an option to turn it off completely as the reminder has a dedicated notification setting. So, you can turn it off by tapping and holding the notification on your smartwatch.

The “wash hands” reminder feature for WearOS comes with v5.4.0, which Google is currently rolling out. So, if you haven’t received this feature yet, check your WearOS version and if need be, update it.