Application management is one of the aspects that Google focuses on the most during development Android, its well-known operating system that stands out for its presence on mobile phones. The search engine giant has begun deploying a feature that, once activated and in case it gets to the user, automatically archives unused apps, saving storage space.

Process auto-archive is an uninstall mechanism that, according to Google, can reduce the space taken up by less-used apps by up to 60% approximately. Of course, in the event that the application is “archived”, it will not be completely removed from the device, because user data will remain in storage in case he decides to reactivate it.

Archived apps can be distinguished by a transparent cloud icon that appears over the app. If a user clicks on an archived app icon, it will be restored while it’s still present in Google Play, so it remains to be seen if Mountain View decides to bring this feature to third-party stores. On the other hand, Google has warned that it is only supported, at least for now, by apps that are published in the Android App Bundle format, and that apps that support its file won’t show up as often in uninstall suggestions.

It doesn’t take a genius to guess that automatic app archiving is mainly useful on devices that don’t have a lot of storage, especially those that don’t allow for microSD expansion. Now It’s something the user has to activate manually if they want to use it (and that’s if they received it). Once activated, the feature will continue to archive unused applications. Activation will also be suggested if you try to install the app on a device that doesn’t have enough space.

As we said at the beginning, Google is trying to improve the management of applications on Android, and not only those that come from the Play Store. In addition to automatic app archiving, it automatically synchronizes apps between devices, improves the performance of third-party apps, and promotes the Android App Bundle (AAB), which replaces traditional APKs even outside of mobile, as apps packaged in the AAB format take up 20% less space on average than those distributed in APK format.