If you are looking To free up space on your phone, one of the recommendations they usually make is to uninstall those applications that you don’t use much. You save the space they take up and the bandwidth needed to keep them up to date, and you also prevent them from collecting data about you.
However, if you’re not interested in completely removing less-used apps (just in case you need them), there is another option. Both Android and iOS allow you to delete a good portion of the data and files linked to an app, without having to uninstall it. The app icon and some data remain on your phone. If you need it again, the rest of the necessary data is retrieved from the web and the application is fully restored.
Android calls it stock apps and on iPhone it is called app download. Once you’ve enabled the feature, you’ll be able to have everything handled automatically, meaning the apps you use less frequently don’t take up a huge amount of space on your device, but are still within reach if they’re needed.
Archive apps on Android
You can manually archive any app on Android.David Nield
Starting with Google’s mobile operating system, archiving an app “removes its software, permissions, temporary files, and stops notifications, but preserves the app’s icon and data” in google words. You can manually choose which apps to archive or let Android make that decision based on which apps you use the least.
To archive an app manually, open Settings and choose Applicationsand then select the app you want to archive (tap See all applications if the one you want is not visible). Tap Archive to archive it: The app icon in the app drawer (and on the home screen, if it’s there) will have an archive icon next to it (an arrow inside a cloud symbol). To restore an archived app to its normal state, simply tap its icon. After a quick restore, the application will start normally.
To have all of this handled automatically, open the Play Store app: tap your profile photo (top right), then choose Settings and Generaland enable Automatically archive apps. Google doesn’t specify the criteria it uses to decide when an app should be archived, but you’ll see the same archive symbol next to the name of any archived app as it appears when you start the process manually.
If you have turned on automatic app archiving, you can still archive apps manually if necessary. You can also protect certain apps from automatically archiving: From the main Android Settings screen, choose Applications and then select the app you want to protect. (Tap See all applications if you can’t see it). Turn off the Manage the application if it is not used toggle switch and it will be left alone.
Downloading applications on iOS
iOS will download apps automatically.David Nield
If you are using an iPhone, iOS gives you the opportunity to download apps. As on Android, most of the app data is deleted to free up space and key information is saved on the phone. For example, if you decide to restore the application, you will not have to go through the process of signing in and setting your preferences again.
To find the option, open Settings in iOS, then choose App Store. You will see a toggle switch labeled Download unused applicationsalong with a little information about what it does. Downloaded apps still appear on the home screen and in your app library, but they have a cloud icon.
Apple doesn’t say much about the criteria it uses to choose which apps are downloaded (such as how long an app should remain inactive before taking action), but you can quickly restore an app again by simply tapping its icon. The necessary data will be downloaded again and the application will start normally.
You can always manually download an app, if necessary. From Settings, choose Generalso iPhone storage. You’ll see a list of all installed apps (you can sort them by size using the filter at the top, if necessary): Tap an app to find it. Download application option. That button then changes to Reinstall the applicationwhich will restore the app again.