If your phone has ever run out of storage space, then you know how frustrating it can be to find ways to free up space. Most often, this leads to uninstalling apps, which is a tedious and time-consuming task. Fortunately, Google’s auto-archive feature coming to Android could make this process much more manageable.
What is Google’s Auto-Archive Feature?
Google’s auto-archiving feature is designed to help Android users free up storage space on their devices without uninstalling apps completely. When a user enables the feature, the system automatically archives infrequently used apps to free up storage space for new apps. This way, the user can keep their favorite apps without worrying about running out of storage space.
According to Google, the auto-archiving feature can “automatically free up to nearly 60% of an app’s storage space.” It works by partly removing the app from the device instead of completely deleting it. As a result, the app icon and the user’s personal data are preserved. This means that if the user wants to use the app again, they can simply re-download it and pick up where they left off.
How to Use Google’s Auto-Archiving Feature?
To use Google’s auto-archiving feature, the user needs to opt-in. Here are the steps that Google provides to enable the feature:
- When the user tries to install a new app, and the device is out of storage, a pop-up window appears.
- The pop-up window asks if the user wants to enable auto-archive.
- If the user opts-in, unused apps on the user’s device will be auto-archived to free up enough space for a new app request.
Only infrequently used apps will get archived once the user opts-in. For users who want to use an archived app again, they can simply “tap to re-download it and pick up where they left off (as long as the app is still available on Google Play).”
Benefits for Developers
For developers who want to add support for auto-archiving to their app, they need to use App Bundle. Google claims that when apps support this feature, “users will be less likely to see it surfaced amongst uninstall suggestions.” This means that developers can retain more users by reducing the chances of their app being uninstalled due to storage constraints.
Moreover, developers can use this feature to keep their app’s user data even when it’s not frequently used. This way, users can keep their data and come back to the app when they want to without worrying about losing their data.
