I wish more people knew about these 7 buried Android features

I’ve been writing about Android smartphones for years, so I do know numerous the methods and hidden options that may enhance a person’s expertise. On the similar time, I’m continually discovering out about options that went unnoticed by me because of difficult menus and differing Android skins.

As soon as I uncover these options, although, I change into akin to a avenue preacher sharing the excellent news of Android optimization. And in the present day I’m right here to share a few of the most helpful buried options I want extra folks knew about.

You possibly can see the permissions every app has entry to in your app settings, however Android additionally has a built-in privateness dashboard that makes this data simpler to digest at a look. It highlights the permissions that apps have accessed prior to now 24 hours in a helpful chart. You too can see a abstract of particular permissions and which apps have accessed them over the previous day.

This dashboard has helped me revoke permissions that I’ve by chance granted prior to now. For instance, I spotted that X (Twitter) had a contacts permission that I didn’t keep in mind granting. It additionally flagged a number of different apps that have been accessing my contacts unnecessarily.

To entry the privateness dashboard, you may go to Settings > Safety & privateness > Privateness dashboard. On Samsung’s One UI, the steps differ barely. You will have to go to Settings > Safety and privateness > Permissions utilized in final 24 hours. Nonetheless, Samsung’s model doesn’t embody the helpful chart.

As a rule, when somebody desires me to connect with their residence Wi-Fi community, they offer me the title and password. However there’s a a lot easier technique to enable others to connect with your community — sharing an simply generated QR code.

The precise course of depends upon the smartphone model you’re utilizing — some routinely present the QR code when you choose the choice to share a community in your telephone, whereas others require you to pick it because the sharing technique. However the fundamental steps are often to go to your Wi-Fi settings and entry the present community’s sharing choices.

On Samsung Galaxy telephones, for instance, that you must go to Settings > Connections > Wi-Fi after which choose the cog icon subsequent to your present community. On the backside of the display screen, there’s a button for QR code.

To scan a QR code utilizing your system, additionally, you will must go to your Wi-Fi settings and choose the scan icon. This implies you don’t have to fret about utilizing Google Lens, your telephone’s digicam, or a QR code scanning app.

I often carry a number of telephones round with me, both as a part of opinions I’m doing, or as a result of I’m taking part in Pokémon Go. However moderately than having a SIM for every, I exploit one information SIM — both in my primary telephone or in a journey router.

Nonetheless, I rapidly encountered an issue with this privacy-focused method. My linked telephones have been treating my hotspot as an everyday Wi-Fi connection, that means that they rapidly used up my restricted information plan. I might set a restrict for the hotspot, however this wouldn’t clear up the difficulty of 1 telephone updating its OS whereas linked, utilizing up my complete bundle for the month.

That’s after I found the choice to arrange a metered connection. The choice makes your telephone deal with the community equally to a cell community, limiting its information utilization. Whereas this setting is notably absent on my HONOR smartphone, you may set it on different units.

For instance, on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, you may open the settings for a Wi-Fi community, choose the View extra dropdown, after which faucet on Metered community. Set the choice to Deal with as metered in order that your telephone treats it like a cell community.

It’s no secret that Android is a large number of menus and settings that may change into tough to navigate. The power to go looking your settings makes it simpler to search out issues, however even then sure gadgets could not present up, just like the settings to your default launcher.

This mess turns into much more complicated when switching between units with totally different Android skins. For instance, my Samsung system has its eye consolation settings in its show settings, however my HONOR smartphone has a devoted menu for all its eye care options.

That’s why this trick is considered one of my favorites. If in case you have a sure setting in your Fast Settings — the icons situated throughout the management panel you entry when swiping down in your telephone’s display screen — you need to use it as a shortcut to customise and entry the function. Normally, folks simply use this to modify a setting on and off, however in case you maintain down on an icon, it would take you to that function’s settings web page.

This implies your Do Not Disturb icon isn’t just for switching the function on and off. If you wish to alter your schedule, for instance, you may maintain down the icon to entry its settings.  Holding down on the Eye Consolation icon takes me to the web page the place I can set its heat and tweak different settings. The trick means you spend much less time misplaced in menus or trying to find particular phrases.

Name me old style, however I imagine that it’s best to have the ability to change your telephone off along with your energy button. It’s within the title. However in recent times, that button has became a shortcut for Gemini. You possibly can already entry the AI instrument utilizing your voice and its wake phrase, however Google determined that one other shortcut was crucial and commandeered the facility button.

For those who’re like me and don’t want a bodily button for Gemini, you may truly change what your energy button does. This setting is buried elsewhere relying in your smartphone model. My S26 Extremely evaluation unit has it beneath Settings > Superior options > Aspect button > Lengthy press. This lets you change it to a special assistant or to the facility menu.

On HONOR units, the setting is throughout the accessibility settings. You possibly can go to Settings > Accessibility options > Shortcuts & gestures > Press and maintain Energy button. For those who’re struggling to search out the setting in your system, I like to recommend trying to find “energy button” in your settings.

Once you arrange your telephone, you get a default set of Fast Settings icons which might be enabled. In case your telephone’s setup wizard didn’t take you thru any customization, the panel could also be filled with options you by no means use.

However you may customise your Fast Settings in order that your most-used options are on the forefront. You too can uncover a bunch of latest Fast Settings relying on the apps that you’ve put in. For instance, House Assistant offers me entry to a spread of Fast Settings shortcuts that I can configure with the service. TickTick additionally has an Add Job tile that I can use.

To entry the customization menu for the panel, navigate to your Fast Settings and choose the pencil icon. Then choose Edit or Add Tile to pick and alter the shortcuts obtainable within the Fast Settings part. You too can drag and drop the shortcuts to regulate their order within the panel.

Notifications was once a helpful technique to preserve abreast of essential updates from apps, however have change into a approach for firms to relentlessly power engagement. That is most insidious in terms of apps that you simply do need to obtain a couple of notifications from, however which additionally ship a bunch of unimportant updates.

For instance, I need to obtain notifications for when my Uber Eats order is on its approach. However I not often order takeout, so notifications about specials and promotions are ineffective to me. That’s the place notification channels are available in.

Notification channels are teams of notifications on an app that may be disabled individually. So, for an app like Uber Eats, I can silence promotions whereas nonetheless getting essential supply updates. The downside is that whereas all notifications have to be assigned to a channel as of Android 8, not all builders do that in good religion. I’ve discovered plenty of apps that merely have one channel and no technique to configure notifications from throughout the app.

For the apps that do let you handle your notifications, you may entry their channels on the app data web page. To entry this, head to Settings > Apps > Handle apps > [App name] > Notifications. On this web page, it’s best to see the totally different channels beneath Notification sort.

Samsung makes this setting further tough to make use of, since notification channel administration isn’t enabled by default. To allow it, first go to Settings > Notifications > Superior settings, and toggle on Handle notification classes for every app. Then, to entry the notification channels for a particular app, head to Settings > Apps > [App name] > Notifications > Notification classes. Right here you may toggle the precise classes you need to allow or disable.

For those who’re undecided which channel a notification belongs to, you may watch for one to seem on your private home display screen. Relying in your smartphone, you both want to carry down on the notification or swipe left to entry the notification settings. This takes you to the notifications channels web page, with the corresponding class flashing.

Whereas not foolproof, it could actually go a great distance in the direction of getting your notifications beneath management.

Android telephones don’t at all times do one of the best job of surfacing essentially the most helpful methods and settings. Plus, the open-source nature of the OS implies that every model tweaks its personal model of the software program otherwise.

I really feel like I’m continually discovering new methods that optimize the best way that I exploit my telephone. I simply want Android made it simpler to entry them in order that they weren’t hidden gems.