Google has started rolling out its new automatic archiving tool for Android devices, designed to free up storage space without completely uninstalling applications from users’ devices. First teased in May of last year, Google claims that the auto-archive feature can automatically reduce the storage occupied by infrequently used apps by nearly 60 percent without completely removing the app or its associated data from a device. user.
Archived apps can be distinguished by a cloud icon overlaying the app icon. Tapping on archived apps will redownload and fully restore them, as long as the app is still available on Google Play. The feature should be useful for those using Android devices that lack expandable storage or users who are reluctant to delete apps entirely to free up space, though not all apps will be eligible for auto-archiving. Google notes that the feature is only available in apps released using Android’s App Bundle format, and that file-supported apps won’t show up as often in a device’s uninstall suggestions.
Android users will need to opt-in to use the auto-archive feature. The option will appear via a popup window when you try to install a new app on a device with no storage. Once enabled, the feature will archive all unused apps from the device. A disclaimer in the subscription popup reveals that preferences for the feature can be adjusted in the settings menu. We’ve reached out to Google to clarify how (or if) users can opt-in to the feature on Android devices with storage still available, and will update this story if we hear back.
Android’s automatic archiving tool comes several years after Apple released “Unload Unused Apps” in iOS 11, a feature that similarly “deletes” rarely used apps on iPhones while preserving their data, allowing users to back to where they left off after restoring the app.
