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No matter how much internal storage your phone has, it’s bound to fill up at some point. When that happens, the first solution that comes to mind is uninstalling unused apps. That makes sense, but sometimes that also forces you to give up on your favorite game or app that’s taking up a little too much space.
The good news is that on devices running Android 15 or later, uninstalling isn’t your only option. You can also archive an app, which reduces how much storage it uses without removing your saved data, settings, or progress.
Why app archiving is better than uninstalling
It brings the best of both worlds
Credit: Bertel King / MakeUseOf
On Android, archiving an app removes all the heavy parts that take up space, such as the app’s code, resources, and temporary files. What it keeps is the important stuff, which is your login information, settings, and app data.
The app is not removed entirely from your phone but replaced with a lightweight archived version. And since this archived package only contains the app’s icon and essential data, it takes up a tiny fraction of the space compared to the full app.
When you decide to restore the app, your phone downloads the latest bits of the app from the Play Store. This means the app is also updated when you unarchive it. Once it’s back, you can jump right in without logging in again or losing your progress. It’s almost like you never removed it.
Uninstalling an app, on the other hand, completely removes it from your phone. The app, your data, your settings, everything goes. That’s still the right choice if you are sure you’ll never need the app again. But if you’re only removing an app to free up storage space, you can archive it instead.
How much space app archiving actually saves
It can vary a lot
Since archiving an app does not remove the app entirely, it doesn’t free up 100% of the storage it was using. For instance, the X app on my phone used 387 MB of storage space. After I archived it, that number dropped to 144 MB, which is a roughly 63% reduction.
The exact amount of space you save depends on the app and how much data it stores on your device. Some apps are small but store a large amount of data locally, while others are huge but keep very little data.
In general, though, the bigger the app’s download size, the more space you’ll recover by archiving it. This makes archiving especially useful for large games. You can get rid of the ones you don’t often play to free up space, and still come back to them without losing any progress.
Archiving and unarchiving apps is easy
A couple of taps is all it takes
Archiving an app is quite simple. Head to Settings > Apps and find the app you want to archive. Tap it, then choose the Archive option at the bottom. That’s it. Your phone will remove most bits of the app and free up space. Its icon will still appear on your home screen and the app drawer, but it’ll be dimmed and marked with a small cloud icon so you know it’s archived.
You won’t see the «Archive» option for every app on your phone. This includes essential system apps and those pre-installed by the manufacturer.
Bringing an app back, also called restoring it, is just as easy. All you have to do is tap the app’s icon and choose Restore. Your phone will start downloading the missing parts of the app from the Play Store, and you’ll be able to use it again.
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Enabling auto-archiving apps on Android
Let Android archive apps for you
If you like the idea of archiving apps but don’t want to do it manually every few weeks, there’s a way to automate it. Android can keep an eye on unused apps and archive them automatically. This also allows it to archive apps when your phone is low on storage space, and you’re trying to download something new.
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To enable this, head to the Play Store, tap your profile icon in the top right corner, and select Settings. Tap General and turn on Automatically archive apps toggle.
Of course, there will be some apps you never want archived, even if you don’t use them often. This could be a banking app, a work tool, or something you want available at all times. You can easily exclude those. For that, long press on the app’s icon and tap the info icon. On the app info page, turn off Manage app if unused, and you’re done.
We all have some apps that we don’t use or need often but still don’t want to get rid of. Archiving is the perfect compromise. Of course, doing so will only free up so much space. If you still need more breathing room, you’ll need to go after large files, old screenshots, and forgotten downloads.
