Google now offers automatic app archiving. The feature lets you remove unused apps while keeping all of your user data and settings in case you decide to reinstall the app later. The app’s size can be reduced by up to 60%.
Archived apps won’t disappear from your smartphone altogether, but a cloud-shaped icon will appear on the app icon. If you click on it, the app will start downloading again, provided that it is still available on Google Play.
Users can enable this feature when they try to download an app for which there is not enough space on their smartphone.
It’s important to note that automatic archiving is only available for apps that use the App Bundle (AAB) distribution model. This file format reduces the size of applications and simplifies the release of new versions. Since 2021, developers have been required to use AAB to publish apps on Google Play, so it’s likely that all of your apps already use this format.
