Google is adding a very practical function to smartphones running Android 13. Called Auto-archive, it saves space by automatically archiving unused applications while retaining their data.
No choice: when a smartphone reaches the limit of its storage capacity, we are forced to clean up and sacrifice certain applications, for lack of free space to install them. A radical decision, but necessary… It is also one, if not the main reason why users uninstall an app. And that, Google has understood. “Today, when users try to install a new app on a nearly full device, they see a dialog box that allows them to manually uninstall the app to make room”notes the Internet giant in a blog post. What make the operation a bit tedious, especially if you have to repeat it several times and search through its entire list of apps to find those that are the least useful. In addition, users lose all their data, which is problematic if they want to reinstall them later. This is why smartphones running Android 13 will be entitled to a new function, called Auto-archive, to solve this problem.
Auto-archive: reduce used space without uninstalling the app
The Auto-Archive function should reduce the space used by archived applications by 60%, without completely erasing them. Thus, it will be possible to download them again and reuse them without having to reconfigure them. The icons will also remain visible on the screen, with a small cloud to be able to distinguish them from other applications. To download them again, just tap on them.
The procedure is very simple. You have to download a new app from the Play Store, Shoper, when there is not much free space left on the device. A message is then displayed asking if the user wishes to activate the Auto-archive function. If he accepts, unused applications are automatically archived by the Play Store. Enough to make space automatically without having to regularly check which apps are used or not. Note that iPhones have already had a similar function for a while on iOS. It’s time for Google to update!