Top 4 Android Features You Didn’t Know Existed

Android is packed with hidden features that most people have never heard of. Today, we’re highlighting a few of those features to explain some of the cool things you didn’t know your Android smartphone or tablet could do.

Jump Directly to App Info from the Recent Apps List

You can jump directly to the “app info” section from the Recent Apps list on Android. Every Android app has its own app info page in the Settings menu, but getting to that page can be a pain.

Fortunately, with this shortcut, you can access app info in seconds. Follow these steps:

Step 1) Open the recent apps / multitasking screen on your Android device

Step 2) Scroll through the list to find the app you want

Step 3) Long-press on the app’s icon in the title bar for that app

Step 4) On most phones, you’ll jump straight to the app info page; on some phones, you may need to press the (i) button to get there

Step 5) That’s it!

From the app info page, you can fix misbehaving apps. You can clear user data, for example, and clear application data. Certain apps tend to clog up your system over time. This is a great way to refresh them. It’s also a way to fix your apps if simply restarting doesn’t work.

Use Screen Pinning to Prevent People from Snooping Through Your Phone

Maybe you’re showing baby photos to a coworker. Maybe you’re showing your mom photos from your last vacation. Maybe you’re showing a document to a client. Maybe you’ve given your tablet to your child so he can play a game.

Whatever the situation may be, you want that person to look at one thing on your phone and one thing only.

Typically, you just have to trust that person not to look through your phone. With Android’s new under-utilized screen pinning feature, however, you can prevent people from snooping through your phone with just a few clicks.

Screen pinning makes it impossible for someone to leave the app and look at other stuff on your phone. Only you can unpin the app from the screen. If you just want someone to look at one app while they’re holding your phone, then the screen pinning feature is a game-changer.

Here’s how to set up screen pinning:

Step 1) Go to Settings

Step 2) Navigate to the Security section

Step 3) Find screen pinning or Screen pin

Step 4) Turn it on and make sure to enable the lockscreen option

Then, when you’re ready to actually pin an app to your screen before handing it to someone, here’s how to do it:

Step 1) Open the app you want to use and pin

Step 2) Open the recent apps screen and scroll up until you see the “pin” icon

Step 3) Tap the pin icon

Step 4) That’s it! Your active app will be pinned to your screen until you unpin it.

The unpin procedure varies between phones. On most phones, it’s something like long-pressing the back button or long-pressing the back and recent apps buttons. Your phone will explain how to do it when you’re setting it up for the first time.

Restrict Background Data Usage of Apps

In days gone by, you needed to root your device to get this type of functionality. Today, you can restrict background data usage of apps with a quick trip to your settings menu.

We don’t recommend doing this for apps you use regularly. Your social media and email apps, for example, will use background data to periodically check for messages and updates. If you want to restrict other apps from using background data, however, then this is a very effective tool. Here’s how to enable it:

Step 1) Go to Settings

Step 2) Navigate to Data Usage > Data Saver

Step 3) Toggle the switch on

Step 4) Tap Unrestricted data access

Step 5) Choose the apps that are allowed to use mobile data; disable any apps that don’t need mobile data

Step 6) That’s it!

I do this for a lot of games on my Android device. You can disable data access for games if you’re just playing offline. That way, you can enjoy the game without getting bombarded with ads.

Hide Lockscreen Notification Information

Your lockscreen displays a lot of important information by default. Someone can read most of the content of your social media messages and texts from the lockscreen by default, for example, without ever unlocking your device.

This isn’t ideal if you lose your smartphone or if your phone is frequently left in front of other people. You don’t want your phone to be sitting on your kitchen table when you get an embarrassing “You up?” text from your ex in front of your roommates, for example.

Lockscreen security is important. Here’s how to hide sensitive lockscreen information:

Step 1) Go to Settings

Step 2) Go to Notifications or Sound & Notification

Step 3) Tap the gear icon (not necessary on the latest version of Android)

Step 4) Tap On the lock screen or Lock screen

Step 5) Choose the privacy option you want to use, including Don’t show any notifications at all, Show all notification content, or Hide sensitive notification content

Step 6) That’s it!

From this point forward, your phone will only display certain information on the lockscreen per your instructions.