Feel sick while using your smartphone in a moving car? Android’s new feature could help. Here’s how to turn it on

Reading a message, checking directions or scrolling through your phone during a car ride can be enough to make some people feel dizzy or nauseous. Google is now rolling out a feature designed specifically for that problem and the solution looks surprisingly simple. Called Motion Assist, the Android 17 feature places animated shapes around the edges of the screen that move with the vehicle. The idea is to give the eyes visual information that better matches the movement being detected by the inner ear, reducing the sensory conflict associated with motion sickness.

Why using a phone in a moving car can make you sick

Motion sickness is commonly linked to conflicting sensory information. When someone looks down at a relatively stationary phone screen, their eyes may suggest that the body is not moving very much. At the same time, the inner ear can detect acceleration, braking and turns. That mismatch can contribute to nausea, dizziness and discomfort. Motion Assist tries to bridge the gap. It uses the phone's accelerometer and gyroscope to determine how the vehicle is moving. Small indicators at the edges of the display then respond in real time. When a vehicle accelerates, brakes or turns, the shapes shift accordingly.

The feature does not replace whatever is on the screen. Instead, the cues remain around the display's edges while users continue reading, watching or browsing. Google also allows users to customise their appearance, including the shape, colour and opacity of the indicators.


Motion Assist can activate automatically when the phone detects that the user is travelling in a moving vehicle. Alternatively, it can be switched on manually through a Quick Settings tile. Apple introduced a similar approach, called Vehicle Motion Cues, with iOS 18 in 2024. Google's version is now beginning to reach Android users.

How to activate Motion Assist on Android

The feature is currently rolling out gradually, initially to some Pixel phones running Android 17. If it is available on your device, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings on your Android phone.
2. Tap your profile near the top of the Settings page.
3. Select All services.
4. Scroll down to Personal & device safety.
5. Tap Motion Assist.
6. Switch the feature on.

Enable the option that allows Motion Assist to start automatically in a moving vehicle, if you want it to activate without doing anything each time. You can also add Motion Assist to Quick Settings so it can be turned on and off manually with a swipe and tap. Once active, Android displays a notification indicating that Motion Assist is running.

Don’t see Motion Assist yet?

That does not necessarily mean your phone is incompatible. Reports indicate that Google is using a phased rollout, meaning even Pixel devices running the same Android 17 software may receive the feature at different times. Ars Technica reports that the feature is being delivered through Google Play Services rather than as a standalone app, so there is currently no separate application users can simply install to force access. Google has confirmed Android 17 is rolling out to Pixel devices, although Motion Assist availability remains more limited for now.

A small visual trick aimed at an everyday problem

Motion Assist will not necessarily eliminate motion sickness for everyone, and users who experience severe or persistent symptoms should not treat a phone feature as medical treatment. But the concept is notable because it tackles a familiar travel problem without asking users to stop using their phones completely. Instead of changing what you're looking at, Android changes what happens around it. A few moving shapes at the edges of the screen may be enough to give the brain the motion information it was missing and potentially make the next long car journey considerably easier.