Robert Triggs/Android Authority
TL; DR
- Google is launching a new AutoArchive feature for Android.
- AutoArchive can free up approximately 60% of an app’s storage.
- Only developers using the App Bundle can add auto-archive support to their apps.
If your phone is running out of storage space, you know how annoying it is to find ways to free up space. This often leads to uninstalling apps. Nobody likes being forced to delete apps, but there’s a new feature coming to Android that can help you keep your apps while freeing up space at the same time.
Google announced this morning that it’s rolling out AutoArchive to Android. With this new feature, the company aims to reduce unnecessary app uninstalls while allowing new apps to be downloaded.
The tech giant states that the AutoArchive feature will allow users to “automatically free up approximately 60% of the app’s storage.” This works by partially removing the app from the device rather than deleting it completely. As a result, the application icon and personal user data are preserved.
To use this feature, the user will need to subscribe. Here Google describes the steps on how to do it.
- The user tries to install a new app when the device runs out of storage.
- A popup appears asking if the user wants to enable AutoArchive.
- If the user chooses to share, unused apps on the user’s device are automatically archived to free up enough space to order a new app.
Apps that you don’t use often will be archived until you subscribe. For users who want to use an archived app again, they can “tap to re-download it and pick up where they left off (as long as the app is still available (Google Play).”
For developers who want to add auto-archive support to their apps, you should use the App Bundle. Google claims that when apps support this feature, “users will be less likely to see it appear among the uninstall suggestions.”