Here’s how the new feature will work
Recognition: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
- Android 12 will automatically hibernate apps you don’t use to free up space.
- The app hibernation feature removes temporary files and kills notifications from apps that have not been used for months.
The first traces of a new app hibernation feature on Android 12 were released back in January and discovered as part of the code changes submitted to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Well folks at XDA developer got the feature to work on a leaked Android 12 build they recently received.
The release confirms that the app hibernation code is in the build that appears to be newer than Developer Preview 2.
Google seems to be building on the existing space for unused apps in Android 11 with the new hibernation feature for apps in Android 12. In addition to automatically revoking permissions for unused apps, Android 12 will also reportedly delete temporary files to free up space on your phone.
XDA activated the new area for unused apps in the “App-Info” setting of each app. It includes a toggle for removing permissions and freeing up space. This compares with the option to remove permissions in Android 11 under the App Permissions section on the App Information page.
After the publication managed to manually put some apps to sleep, the setting for unused apps showed apps that hadn’t been opened in a few months. The description of the unused apps says that Android 12 will remove permissions from these apps, stop notifications to save battery, and remove temporary files to free up space.
According to the previously detected code changes, the removed files consist of an app’s cache. This may not make much of a difference in terms of shared storage on devices that are abundant, but users with entry-level or low-end phones may notice the benefits.
XDA Not sure if the app hibernation feature will show up in the next Android 12 developer preview. However, it seems more than likely that it will be part of the final build.
