Save space on your phone by unpacking and archiving apps

If you are looking to Free up some space On your phone, one recommendation that comes up often is to uninstall apps that you don’t use often. You save the space they take up and the bandwidth required to keep them updated, and you prevent them from collecting data about you as well.

However, if you’re not keen on completely removing your less-used apps – just in case you need them – there is another option. both of them Android and iOS It enables you to remove a large portion of data and files associated with the application, without actually uninstalling it. The app icon and some data remain on your phone. If you need it again, the rest of the necessary data is fetched from the web, and the application is fully restored.

Android calls it “Archiving Apps,” and on iPhone it’s called “Dumping Apps.” Once you enable this feature, it can automatically handle everything for you – meaning your less-used apps don’t take up as much space on your device, but are still handy if needed.

Archiving applications on Android

You can manually archive any app on Android.David Nield

Starting with Google’s mobile operating system, archiving an app “removes its programs, permissions, temporary files, and turns off notifications, but keeps the app icon and data” in Google keywords. You can manually choose which apps you want to archive, or let Android make that decision based on which apps you use least.

To manually archive an app, open Settings and choose Applicationsthen select the application you want to archive (tap See all applications If the person you want is not visible). handle archives To archive it: The app icon in the app drawer — and on the home screen, if it has one — will have an archive icon next to it (an arrow inside the cloud icon). To restore an archived app to its normal state, simply click its icon. After a quick restore, the application will run as usual.

To automatically handle all of this for you, open the Play Store app: tap your profile picture (top right), then choose Settings and generaland empowerment Automatically archive apps. Google doesn’t specify the criteria it uses to decide when an app should be archived, but you’ll see exactly the same archive icon next to the name of any archived apps as you would when you manually started the process.

If you turn on automatic app archiving, you can still archive apps manually if you need to. You can also protect specific apps from being archived automatically: From the Android main Settings screen, choose Applications Then select the app you want to protect. (handle See all applications If you can’t see it.) Turn off Manage the application when not in use Toggle the switch and it will be left alone.

Unpacking apps on iOS

iOS will automatically offload apps for you.David Nield

If you’re using an iPhone, iOS gives you the opportunity to offload apps. As in Android, the bulk of app data is deleted to free up space, keeping essential pieces of information on your phone. For example, if you decide to restore the app, you won’t have to go through the process of signing in and setting your preferences again.

To find the option, open Settings on iOS, then choose App Store. You’ll see a toggle switch labeled Uninstall unused applicationswith little information about what he does. Unloaded apps continue to appear on the Home screen and in your App Library, but have a cloud icon on them.

Apple doesn’t say much about the criteria it uses to choose which apps to unload — like how long an app should remain idle before taking action, for example — but you can quickly get an app back by simply tapping its icon. The necessary data will be re-downloaded, and the application will then run normally.

You can always unload the app manually too, if you need to. From settings choose generalthen iPhone storage. You’ll see a list of all installed apps (you can sort them by size using the filter at the top, if necessary): Tap an app to find Unload the application option. Then this button changes to Reinstall the applicationwhich will restore the application again.