Google Play Store feature suggests unused apps to uninstall from Android phones

By Aaron Mamiit Updated March 25, 2022

A new Google Play Store feature is suggesting a list of unused apps that people may want to uninstall from their Android devices to free up some space.

Downloading and installing apps to Android smartphones through the Google Play Store is easy, so it is understandable if people accumulate apps that they do not regularly use.

Fortunately, a new feature that was first spotted by Netherlands-based Android World will help people manage these unused apps. A Google Play Store alert will appear in the notification tray to tell people that they can “remove unused apps for extra storage,” and tapping on the alert will bring up a list of apps that have not been opened in a while.

Each app on the list comes with a description, as well as information on when it was last launched. From there, the apps that are fine to be uninstalled may be selected, with the Google Play Store then summarizing the space that was freed up in the process.

The feature will help in removing the clutter in Android devices, but it remains unclear if it has started rolling out worldwide. It is also unknown how long an app must go unused before it appears in the list of suggestions.

The new feature goes hand in hand with the Google I/O 2019 announcement by product lead Kobi Glick that there will be a new app and game review calibration for the Google Play Store by August. In the updated approach, app reviews will be designed to highlight the more recent and relevant ones, with Google Play Store ratings to be recalculated to give more weight to the most recent ratings.

The ratings adjustment will be in conjunction with a suggested replies feature that will make it easier for developers to respond to reviews left by people on the Google Play Store. Developers who would want to respond to a comment or question will be given three suggested replies, based on the content of the review. Developers will be able to choose between the three suggestions, customize them before sending them out, or create an entirely news response.

Topics

Contributor

Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…

Mobile

Security experts just found a massive flaw with Google Pixel phones

A person holding the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Google is patching a serious firmware-level vulnerability that has been present on millions of Pixel smartphones sold worldwide since 2017. “Out of an abundance of precaution, we will be removing this from all supported in-market Pixel devices with an upcoming Pixel software update,” the company told The Washington Post.

The issue at heart is an application package called Showcase.apk, which is an element of Android firmware that has access to multiple system privileges. Ordinarily, an average smartphone user can’t enable or directly interact with it, but iVerify’s research proved that a bad actor can exploit it to inflict some serious damage.

Mobile

Gemini has killed Google Assistant to become the AI future of Android

Gemini running on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Artificial intelligence is spreading its ample wings throughout the Android operating system, right down to Google's decision to rebuild the assistant experience entirely to integrate it inside Android. It means Google Assistant has gone the way of the dinosaur, relegated to the history books as it’s replaced by the next big thing: Google Gemini. What better way to introduce the changes than letting Gemini tell you itself.

“Gemini, Google AI's latest innovation, is set to redefine the Android user experience. By deeply integrating Gemini into Android's core, users can now interact with the AI more naturally, getting assistance with tasks and information retrieval directly within apps. Gemini can even generate images and summarize calls or organize screenshots, all while prioritizing user privacy with on-device processing capabilities.

Mobile

4 ways Google is making Android more accessible to everyone

Updates to Android accessibility features as of August 2024.

While most of the attention will inevitably be focused on the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro today, Google also made some interesting announcements around accessibility in Android at its Made by Google event. Also, likely to the surprise of nobody at all, they include some AI. Here are the four ways Google is improving accessibility in Android.
Magnifier

Originally released in 2023, Magnifier is a very helpful app that only works on Pixel phones. It uses the camera to help people zoom in on the world around them to make reading signs, menus, and other visual guides easier. By integrating AI into Magnifier, it now has a visual search using keywords so you can find relevant terms quickly. Plus, a picture-in-picture view gives you both an overview of what you’re looking at, along with any zoomed-in area.