If you are looking for to Free up some space On your phone, one of the most often put forward recommendations is to uninstall apps you don’t use much. You save the space they’re taking up and the bandwidth needed to keep them updated, and you also prevent them from collecting data on you.
However, if you’re not willing to completely remove your less-used apps—just in case you might need them—there’s another option. Both android And iOS Enables you to remove a good chunk of data and files associated with an app, without actually uninstalling it. The app icon and some data remain on your phone. If and when you need it again, the remaining data is retrieved from the web, and the app is fully restored.
Android calls it archiving apps, and on an iPhone it’s called offloading apps. Once you enable the feature, you can handle everything for yourself — meaning your less commonly used apps aren’t taking up too much space on your device, but if they They are still within easy reach if needed.
Archiving apps on Android
You can manually backup any app on Android.David Nield
Starting with Google’s mobile operating system, archiving an app “removes its software, permissions, temporary files, and blocks notifications, but retains app icons and data”. Google’s words. You can manually choose which apps to archive, or let Android decide which apps you use the least.
To manually archive an app, open and select Settings appsThen select the app you want to archive (tap See all apps (If what you want doesn’t appear). Tap archive To archive it: The app icon in the app drawer—and on the home screen, if it’s there—will have an archive icon (an arrow inside a cloud symbol) next to it. To restore an archived app to its normal state, simply tap its icon. After a quick restore, the app will launch normally.
To handle it all for you, open the Play Store app: Tap your profile picture (top right), then select Settings And Generaland enable Automatically archive apps. Google doesn’t specify the criteria it uses to decide when an app should be archived, but you’ll see the same archive symbol next to the name of any archived apps as it does when you start the process manually. do
If you’ve turned on automatic app archiving, you can still manually archive apps if you need to. You can also prevent certain apps from being archived automatically: From the main Android Settings screen, select apps And then select the app you want to protect. (Tap See all apps If you can’t see it.) turn it off Manage the app if unused Toggle switch, and it will be left alone.
Offloading apps on iOS
iOS will automatically offload apps for you.David Nield
If you’re using an iPhone, iOS gives you the option to offload apps. As on Android, large chunks of app data are deleted to free up space, along with key bits of information stored on your phone. For example, if you decide to restore the app, you won’t need to go through the process of signing in and resetting your preferences.
To find the option, open Settings on iOS, then select App Store. You will see a toggle switch labeled Offload unused appsAlong with a little information about what it does. Offloaded apps still appear on the home screen and in your app library, but they have a cloud icon.
Apple doesn’t say much about the criteria it uses to choose which apps are offloaded — like how long an app has to be idle before an action is taken, for example — but you’re right. Tap to restore an app instantly. the icon The required data will be downloaded again, and the app will then launch normally.
If you need to, you can always offload an app manually. From Settings, select Generalthen iPhone storage. You’ll see a list of all installed apps (if needed, you can sort them by size using the filter at the top): Tap to find an app Offload app Options That button then turns into this Reinstall the appWhich will restore the app again.
