Save Space on Your Phone by Offloading and Archiving Apps

if you are looking for arrive free up some space On your phone, one of the often-given suggestions is to uninstall apps you don’t use often. You save the space they take up and the bandwidth they need to stay updated, and you prevent them from collecting data about you.

However, if you’re not keen on completely deleting less-used apps (just in case you might need them), there’s another option. Both Android and iOS system Enables you to delete large amounts of data and files linked to an application without actually uninstalling it. The app icon and some data remain on your phone. If you need it again, the remaining necessary data will be fetched from the network and the application will be fully restored.

Android calls it an archive app, while on iPhone it’s an offload app. With this feature enabled, everything is automatically handled for you, meaning less frequently used apps don’t take up a lot of space on your device but are still easily accessible when needed.

Archive Apps on Android

Starting with Google’s mobile operating system, archiving an app “removes its software, permissions, temporary files and stops notifications, but retains the app icon and data” Google words. You can manually select which apps to archive, or let Android make the decision based on which apps you use the least.

To archive apps manually, open Settings and select appthen select the app you want to archive (tap View all apps if the one you want is not visible). tap file Archives: There will be an archive icon (an arrow inside a cloud symbol) next to the app icon in the app drawer and the app icon on the home screen (if available). To restore an archived app to its normal state, just click on its icon. After quick recovery, the application will start normally.

To automatically handle all of this for you, open the Play Store app: tap your profile picture (top right) and select settings and Generaland enable Auto-archiving application. Google doesn’t specify criteria for deciding when an app should be archived, but you’ll see the same archive symbol next to the name of any archived app as you would if you started the process manually.

If you have automatic application archiving enabled, you can still archive applications manually if needed. You can also protect certain apps from being automatically archived: From the Android Settings home screen, select app Then select the app you want to protect. (tap View all apps If you can’t see it. Manage application (if not in use) Toggle the switch and it will be retained.

Uninstall apps on iOS

If you are using an iPhone, iOS will provide you with the opportunity to uninstall apps. As with Android, most app data is deleted to free up space, but key information remains on the phone. For example, if you decide to restore the application, you don’t have to go through the process of logging in and setting preferences again.

To find this option, open Settings on iOS and select app store. You’ll see a toggle labeled Uninstall unused appsand some information about its uses. Uninstalled apps still appear on the Home screen and in the App Library, but have a cloud icon above them.

Apple doesn’t say too much about the criteria it uses to choose which apps are offloaded —like how long an app has to be left idle before action is taken, for example—but you can quickly restore an app again just by tapping on its Illustration. The necessary data will be re-downloaded and the application will start normally.

If needed, you can also uninstall the app manually at any time. Select from settings GeneralThen iPhone storage. You’ll see a list of all installed apps (you can use the filters at the top to sort them by size if you want): Click on Apps to find Uninstall an application options. The button then changes to Reinstall the applicationwhich will restore the application again.