The next Android update could prevent you from deleting your app

Storage space on smartphones isn’t as much of a problem as it once was, but if you’re downloading a billion apps or have a cheaper phone, it can still be an issue, and it’s one that an upcoming Android update – most likely Android 13 – could address.

Google has announced that it is developing an app archiving feature that will allow you to archive apps instead of deleting them.

This would temporarily remove parts of an app, freeing up approximately 60% of the space it took up, but without completely deleting the app, allowing it to remain on your device and be quickly and easily restored when you want to use it.

The feature would also keep any user data in the app and restore it to the most recent compatible version – no need to manually update the app after restoring if a new version has been released since you archived it.

As a result, you’d be able to keep all of your apps on your phone while still freeing up a lot of space.

Google has not confirmed when this feature will be available, but has stated that it will be available later this year. This suggests that it may be included in Android 13, as that is the next major Android update, which is expected to arrive in September or October.

Good but not game-changing analysis

The ability to archive apps is undoubtedly a useful feature, but its utility may be limited for many people.

For one thing, you won’t presumably receive notifications from archived apps – we’d assume they’ll essentially be hibernated, with the icon visible but nothing happening behind the scenes, so this won’t be useful for apps that rely on alerts.

It is also unlikely to be useful for apps that you intend to use soon or frequently. Rather, this is likely for apps that you only use infrequently or that you don’t know when you’ll use again but don’t want to delete.

However, given how quickly apps can be downloaded in general (especially if you’re on Wi-Fi or 5G), this solution may not be much better than simply deleting them – especially since deleting them completely will free up even more space.

And, with cloud storage, microSD card slots in less expensive phones, and large storage capacities in more expensive ones, space is unlikely to be an issue for most people in the first place.