Need a break from being online? Introducing Optus Pause

Are devices and too much screen time getting in the way of your family time or digital detox? Try the new feature of My Optus app.

Some of us might remember a time when if you sat too close to the TV for too long, your parents would warn you about “getting square eyes”.

Especially now, with the number of screens in your household multiplying exponentially, the dangers of developing a serious case of Square Eye Syndrome* after indulging in a little too much screen time has never been more pertinent.

But switching off is sometimes easier said than done, especially when you’ve made that decision on behalf of a young child who’s halfway through season three of Bluey, or a teen that’s discovered their true calling is to win sponsorships from Sony PlayStation 5, Epic Games and Victoria’s Secret (why not) for their world-beating Fortnight prowess or TikTok dance moves.

And we understand the need to switch off better than most people (can you imagine trying to spend time away from phones when you work at Optus?), so that’s why we’ve built a brand new feature into My Optus app: Optus Pause.

That’s right. At the touch of a button, you can cut the data connection on your Optus mobile or home internet plan to “press pause” on the connected devices for a set period of time, or just for as long as you like.

It’s the perfect way to reclaim the dinner table as friendly territory in the war against screens for family attention, and get back to the good ol’ days awkward silences between parents asking kids “...how was school?” and the kids just saying “I don’t know” without making eye contact.

But seriously though, the benefits are boundless; not just for families, but for anyone looking for a reliable way to break free from digital distractions and focus on what’s important.

Let’s take a closer look at the features of Optus Pause. 

Turn it off with single touch

From the one place in My Optus app, you can easily control all of your Optus connections and devices. So, that means your phone, your home Wi-Fi, your teenager’s Prepaid, and the iPad on a mobile broadband plan, all in one simple swipe.

But don’t worry, you can still customise your connections. So, if your son has a big homework assignment due but your daughter is at the dinner table, you can exclude his device so he can bring home the grades, while she gets a break from distraction and enjoys some human interaction.

Or even if you don’t want your work phone to ring while you’re in the middle of your big Cyberpunk 77 session… We won’t tell anyone that you’ve hit Pause on that mobile while your PS5 is still going strong on your 5G home connection.

As long as the service is connected to your billing account, you can pause it.

Super easy setup

It wouldn’t make much sense for us to build something that’s designed to help you relax if we then made it complicated and hard to use.

The Optus Pause feature is automatically built-in to My Optus app, so once you’ve downloaded MOA (if you haven’t yet you really should, it’s great) all you need to link the services you’d like to control with a few simple steps.

Super easy to use

All you need to do from there is open My Optus app whenever you feel the need to pause. Choose which devices you’d like to pause and for how long, hit the pause button, and you’re on a digital break.

All at no extra cost

You can’t put a price on digital health and happiness, and that’s why we didn’t. Optus Pause is automatically built-in to My Optus app, which you can get without paying for anything other than the data it takes to download it.

Fundamental for families

Optus Pause is fully compatible with both the Optus Mobile Family Plan and the Optus Home Internet Family plan, so you can make the most of the benefits of both and build a stronger bond with your loved ones. 

Don’t delay your digital detox

If you haven’t tried some time away from your phone yet, we can’t recommend it enough, especially considering it won’t cost you anything extra to whip out My Optus app and press that pause button.

Enjoy it now on every Optus plan, and reset your eyes from square to round. 

*Not a real syndrome.

Find balance with Optus Pause. With the push of a button, you can control and “press pause” almost all of your Optus mobile and home wi-fi connections from My Optus app.