Lazy Android hack instantly gives you extra storage and you don’t need to ‘delete’ data

A CONVENIENT Android trick lets you instantly free up storage space on your phone.

Apps and media files are getting bigger – and the number of files you're storing on your phone has probably grown too.

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This can gobble up a huge amount of storage, which can leave you in trouble.

Thankfully Google has built a clever trick into Android phones to help reduce your storage woes.

It lightens the load of apps on your phone – but importantly doesn't delete your data.

"Your device can automatically archive apps you don’t use often to free up space for new apps," Google explained.

"When this setting is on, the apps you don’t use often will be removed, but your personal data on the app will be saved.

"The app’s icon will remain on your device.

"You'll be able to download the app again, as long as it's available on Google Play."

Google also notes that if you try to install an app without having enough space. you'll be prompted to try the archiving feature.

Setting it up is easy: first, just launch the Google Play Store app.

Now go into Settings > General, and then simple toggle Automatically Archive Apps on.

Other ways to free up Android storage

Of course at some point, you might simply have to start deleting content to free up storage space.

One option is to back-up images via Google Photos – and then delete the orignals.

"If you back up with Google Photos, you can delete the copies on your phone or tablet," Google explained.

"You can find the backed-up copies in the app when your device is connected to the internet."

Note that if you delete the images from Google Photos, they'll also be scrubbed from your device.

So be careful not to accidentally totally delete your images.

Another option is to remove some of the content that you've downloaded inside apps – like movies or music.

Open the Google Play app of your choice – like Music – and then go to Menu > Settings > Manage Downloads.

You can then tap Downloaded > Remove to scrub that content.

Other apps will have their own methods: try diving into Netflix or Spotify to get rid of some of your saved media.

Finally, you can also simply delete apps from your Android altogether.

If you've paid for an app, you'll still be able to reinstall it again for free.

To delete installed apps, go into the Google Play Store and then tap on the Profile icon.

Now tap Manage Apps & Devices > Manage and choose the name of the app that you want to delete.

Then tap Uninstall to remove it from your phone, freeing up valuable storage.

Be sure to check your Android phone's storage settings before doing this, so you can identify the biggest apps that you don't really use.

That way, you can free up storage without deleting valuable apps that you use often.