How to make space on your Android smartphone with auto-archive feature?
Is your phone running low on space? Read this article to know what you can do instead of deleting apps to create more space in your Android phone using the auto archive feature.
In an effort to save space on smartphones, Google is rolling out a new feature for Android devices that will help users delete unused app data. A blog post from Google announced the 'auto-archive' feature.
It is important to note that this feature will not remove any user data. It will only archive the data of less frequently used apps. Upon installation, the device will display a cloud icon indicating the presence of the app. Using the app, you can remove more than 60% of the data from unused apps to save space on your Android phone. This will likely reduce the number of uninstalled apps, and it will still allow users to download apps quickly when needed. What is the auto-archive feature?
Users can free up space on their Android devices using Auto-archive, a new feature that lets them archive apps without uninstalling them completely. Google says infrequently used apps will partially be removed from the device to save space, but the icon and data from the apps will remain. The user can simply redownload the app and continue using it from where they left off (provided the app is still available on Google Play).Apps that support the auto-archive feature?
According to Google's official developer blog post, the auto-archive feature will only work for developers publishing their apps via the App Bundle. Google has outlined the steps to opt-in for auto-archive on its official blog post if you want to enable the feature for your smartphone. How to use the feature?
As mentioned previously, auto-archiving allows users to manage their device storage easily. Additionally, developers can reduce the likelihood of their apps being uninstalled by using it. Android users will be prompted to use auto-archiving when they try to install an app from Play Store and their device runs out of storage.
The prompt reads, "Your device is out of storage and you won't be able to install this app. With app archiving turned on, your device will detect when you don't have enough storage and automatically archive apps you don't use often. Your data will be saved in case you download the app again." It is here that users can choose whether or not to enable the function. A user can opt-in to have unused apps automatically archived to free up space for new app requests if they choose to do so.
You can opt-in to use auto-archive by following these steps:
It is then possible to re-download an app if you decide that it would be useful to you in the future. By going to Settings > Apps > Unused apps, users can manually check for unused apps. In the system, you can manually remove apps that you haven't opened for more than 3 months and 6 months. A bracket usually displays this information, such as "Last opened more than 3 months ago" or "Last opened more than 6 months ago."Conclusion
In addition, Android devices will be more competitive with iOS devices, which has been suggesting which apps to unload for years. A personalized recommendation system was introduced by Apple in iOS 11 in 2017, allowing users to delete unused apps. Those who wish to remove these apps automatically can enable the feature in Settings > General > iPhone Storage by tapping Enable on the Offload Unused Apps toggle.
