Xiaomi, one of the smartphone market’s most significant manufacturers, regularly upgrades its MIUI firmware and introduces new features. It introduced many technologies and significant characteristics to Xiaomi and Redmi phones with MIUI 12 and continues to add new ones. New features are not open to everyone. These features, provided to some users on the Chinese forum of MIUI, will be open to all in the future.
With the new update coming to MIUI 12, it is now easier to change themes. 2 large boxes were placed at the top, light and dark. There are many options such as timing just below.
Although some sites also write this as the MIUI 13 feature, this will be an MIUI 12 update. It is too early to leak about MIUI 13. A style that makes it easy to use with one hand is preferred. You can use the options by swiping up or down.
MIUI 12 offers you an option to return to the old style if you like the notification style of MIUI 11 more. This choice can, however, be hard to find. Finding this setting is a lot simpler with the latest update. Renewed the interface for modifying the notification window.
We can say that the Notes application has revolutionary features. With the new update, objects such as brushes and pens have been added. You can now draw a picture.
Greenify – putting battery hogging, always-on apps in hibernation
Remember how fast your Android device was, fresh out of the store when you first turned it on? Each phone or tablet gets bogged down with apps and user data over time, not unlike a PC, turning increasingly sluggish. There are ways to get around that, luckily. For instance, Greenify is an app designed to customize your Android device to function as smoothly as it originally did.
This does not accomplish this by removing stale data, but by helping you to recognise apps that misbehave, sustain their operation, and consume battery life when you do not use them. It puts certain apps in hibernation mode upon discovery, which prevents them from bogging down the computer and draining its battery. Well, it sounds neat, no?
But when they are off the grid, what happens to those apps? Well, when you need them, or other applications call upon them, you can launch them again. When the foreground is going, their full functionality is maintained-it ‘s just not active. Greenify doesn’t “freeze” programs and it’s not a killer of tasks.
Greenify ‘s Software Analyzer only displays applications that have a POTENTIAL effect on battery or system output usage. Only those you occasionally use are recommended to hibernate, along with the apps you are sure to have a detrimental effect. It’s best to contact the Battery Manager of your Android phone, or your favorite 3rd party battery status app, for that.
Greenify does not support devices running Android 2.x, but something above Android 4.x is gaming! The software is free, but it needs a computer with roots.
Greenify is a well-known Android app that detects and suspends background programs that use excessive amounts of resources in order to enhance device performance and battery life. Greenify is a straightforward yet efficient method of extending battery life without the need for intricate setups, regardless of whether you’re using an older or more recent smartphone model. It automatically pauses apps when they’re not in use, avoiding needless background activity, as opposed to freezing or force-stopping them like some harsh task killers.
Anything suitable for users looking to optimize their Android experience, Greenify remains a trusted choice among power users and casual users alike.
We have a boatload of sales to share with everyone today, including a range of Basic Mobile Tools names, it would seem. Of course, if you’re looking for sports, then, along with King of Dragon Pass and Icewind Dale, Bendy and the Ink Machine is a strong pickup today. As always, to make exploration simpler, I’ve highlighted all the interesting titles in bold. So, without further ado, for the start of the week, there are 24 temporarily free and 89 on-sale applications and games.
Are you struggling to save battery life on Android devices?
Both of us hate being fined regularly. When we intend to purchase our latest smartphone, battery backup still matters now.
There are plenty of Android smartphones on the market with decent battery backup, but they don’t have an unlimited battery life, unfortunately. So here are some easy hacks on your Android devices to save battery life.
Over the past few years, a variety of factors have conspired to decrease gadget stamina. Thinner designs have less battery space, larger and brighter displays, faster quad-core processors, more background applications, and all share responsibility for power-hungry GPS radios. The move from 3G to 4G networks a few years ago—particularly of the LTE variety—has also taken its toll.
Why black wallpaper? — Because most smartphones in the market AMOLED screen which only illuminate the colored pixels. And black pixels are unlit, so the more black pixels you have, or the darker pixels, the less power is needed to light them up.
Who drains your battery
It is necessary to find this strategy, just find the culprit who is responsible for draining your battery.
You can do it by going to “Settings > Battery“.
This choice breaks down what your phone’s battery absorbs. Applications and features will be seen in a chart of battery hogs below. You’ll want to uninstall the software or turn off the feature if you find an application that you rarely use or a feature you never use.
Widgets and live wallpaper
It is necessary to find this strategy, just find the culprit who is responsible for draining your battery.
This choice breaks down what your phone’s battery absorbs. Applications and features will be seen in a chart of battery hogs below. You’ll want to uninstall the software or turn off the feature if you find an application that you rarely use or a feature you never use.
Turn off automatic brightness
Automatic Brightness — sounds useful feature, but don’t go for it.
Automatic brightness is actually typically much brighter than you really need. It’s easier to set the brightness to a low yet comfortable level manually, and bump it up when appropriate. This is one of the easiest ways to conserve battery life, since one of the main battery suckers is the screens.
Apps refresh frequency
The next method is controlling refresh frequency of some apps. Apps checking for new emails and other data in the background updates frequently to fetch new information. This frequent background fetching of data will drain your battery fast.
So to disable this just go to “Settings > Accounts” and uncheck Auto-sync data to prevent your Android device from automatically syncing with your Google accounts (and other accounts) in the background. Uncheck Auto-sync data to prevent your Android device from automatically syncing with your Google accounts (and other accounts) in the background. And also force off apps that work on background.
Shorter sacreen timeout setting saves battery life
Set the screen timeout of your monitor to as short a time as is feasible for you.
Just imagine, if your screen timeout is set to a minute, four times more power will be used than if your screen timeout was set to 15 seconds. The average smartphone user turns their smartphone on 150 times a day, studies say, so the difference between a long screen timeout and a brief one easily adds up. This reduction would help keep the battery going for longer.
Switch Off Vibrate
Turn Vibrate off. Switch off vibration warnings for incoming calls unless you really need the added sensitivity. To vibrate your phone, it actually takes more power than it does to ring it.
Use lock screen notifications or widgets
Battery life can also be protected by locking screen alerts or locking screen widgets. This is because without having to turn the entire computer on, you can display the updates at a glance. This is particularly useful if you get loads of updates that are not immediately worth following up on.
Stay offline
You don’t have to be wired 24/7 to the internet, which enhances the use of data and drains the battery as well. So use the internet when you need to, including shutting it off during your hours of sleep and office hours.
Original batteries
Use only original batteries directly from the manufacturer. This one is significant. It is indeed a poor option to save a few bucks on a battery that could harm your beloved smartphone, which may also offer sub-standard battery efficiency.
Apps lite version
Opting lite versions of Android apps over the main edition there would certainly help you reduce the battery usage. Since lightweight Android apps are slipped versions of the main app, but to save your Android device battery life, you can have to sacrifice certain features for the greater good.
Turn off animations
Another ideal way to maximize battery usage on Android devices is to adjust animation settings. But you have to access “Developer Choices” to change the animation settings, a choice that is concealed within your Android settings.
To enter into Developer mode, go to “Settings>>About phone” and tap on “Build number” a few times and then go back to the main settings page to find the activated “Developer Options”. Now go to enabled Developer Options, and scroll down to find three options namely “Window animation scale“, “Transition animation scale” and “Animator duration scale” and turn them off.
Turn off unwanted services
After their use, we often forget to disable such services such as WiFi, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth without understanding their negative effect on the battery life of your Android device. Most of these services are constantly surveying routers for your knowledge, to find nearby Bluetooth devices or WiFi connections or GPS satellites, even if they are not accessible at that time.
So swipe down your notification bar and disable all these services after their use to save your device battery life.
Greenify
Unlike any other third-party apps which claim to save battery life on Android — Greenify is the trusted one. Greenify saves your battery life by pushing apps into a kinda hibernation mode and stop them from running background until you reopen them again. Since some of the advanced features of Greenify work only on the rooted device — though still works well on non-rooted devices too.
What are the most commonly asked questions from Android users? Like, how is Android getting faster? How can I make my Android phone faster? Well, it is the hope of every Android user that their phone defies all the boundaries of fluidity and rapidity.
But do you believe this is true? Can you make your Android phone faster than it can? At most, what we want is to make the Android system function as if it’s new, because our smartphone is slowed down by downloading apps and using them everyday. These apps run in real-time and consume the device’s memory, energy , and other resources.
So, what could be the many ways to use our Android devices efficiently, in such a way that we could reduce the lags and freezes as much as possible if not completely?
Keep the apps you use
Nearly every guide to Android tips and tricks you could read will suggest that you keep only those apps you use on a daily basis. Doesn’t that sound apparent? Will you store your house with unnecessary items only because they are free? Yeah, our homes are always loaded with items like that, but do we have to do the same with our smartphones?
In order to keep running, numerous apps that live inside our smartphones run all the time and need to connect to the Internet. Even if we don’t benefit from these applications, they will just place a burden on the hardware even raise our data bills. It would be a smart step in the direction of speeding up Android to get rid of such software.
Clear the cache
On a daily basis, there are some applications that you don’t need, but they are relevant enough to have a place on your computer. Like, you book flights, hotels, and order food with the apps you use. Try to delete the cached data for such apps in the Settings to make Android quicker, to ensure that they do not take much space when they are not in use. Often learning the cached data helps to make the app faster as it eliminates old data that might make it slow and cause freezes and crashes. The application will maintain newer versions of the same stuff when the data is removed.
Clear the memory several times during the day
Android has exceptional abilities for task management. It can, whenever needed, close unwanted processes on its own. But I can tell you this old-school thing would be of great help if your system had a RAM shortage.
Nearly every launcher nowadays provides the option of freeing up system memory. If there is no memory cleaning application, you should consider downloading any. And I am not talking about the apps here that claim to make your Android phone faster by running cleaning operations in real-time. And all they do is make it even slower on the computer.
Check if there are lighter versions of apps
Many of the popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, and Opera also have versions of their ‘lite’. These lightweight applications are also designed for smartphones at the entry-level and for consumers needing to keep things simple.
The efficiency of your Android phone can be enhanced by using Lite versions for applications. And they also decrease your data bills, and it’s one of the reasons that there are such games.
Update your device
Each newer version of Android comes with different performance enhancements. So, updating your computer will do wonders and accelerate Android if your vendor is good enough to release one.
Alternatively, you can head over towards custom ROMs for your Android device if you think the device maker built the phone and just forgot the fact that it exists anymore. That is the case of the Mi Pad my friend brought more than a year ago. Even though the device has capable hardware, it still runs Android KitKat. Please note that using customs ROMs usually comes in the category of Android performance tips for experienced users.
Before you install an app
It’s almost a decade since Android came into existence and the number of apps for the platform has now grown into millions. But out of these uncountable number of apps and games, not all of them are designed by developers with good intentions.
Many Android apps are fake and want to take control of your device, steal valuable data and send it to their masters. For instance, the System Update malware lived in the Play Store for three years, undetected.
Google has recently rolled out Play Protect tool for scanning such apps. Indirectly, you can make your Android device faster by this option. However, you should check the authenticity of an unknown app before you install it, even if you’re downloading it from the Play Store.
Format your SD Card to improve Android performance
If you experience frequent crashes on your Android phones, one of the explanations might be a corrupt SD. Formatting the SD card would not only delete the unnecessary junk of files generated by the Android framework and various apps, but could ultimately lead to a boost in performance.
Update only over WiFi
In order to keep the information fresh all the time or do other things such as uploading files, images , videos, several apps need to update themselves in the background. Disabling background data can thus render an Android computer, to an extent, faster.
That’s because it bars apps from linking to the internet and from using device tools. Turning off background data for mobile networks will also be helpful in saving your internet bills.
Alternatively, you can turn off auto-sync on your Android device if you want to keep your device from being synced by Google.
And turn-off auto update in Google Play by visiting Settings > Auto-update apps > Select Auto-update apps over WiFi only.
Restart is what your Android phone needs sometimes
For our computers, this applies; restarting the machines will help them find their way through tough times. Similarly, Android devices may be the case too. It deletes temporary files to speed up Android when you reboot your computer and also cleans up the memory of the device.
Use the cloud, free your storage
Files are being transferred to the cloud in the latest 2017 storage fashion. Not only does this make our data available across devices, it also frees up precious internal storage on the Android phone that applications installed on the device can use. Keep in mind that internal storage plays a significant role in your Android phone’s output.
Keep your home screen clean
It sounds good to fill your Android home screen with live wallpapers and loads of widgets. However, all these things put additional load on the hardware under the hood and affect the output of the system.
Often, when you use a heavy app or play games, you may see your Android device struggling to load the contents of the home screen.
One of the many ways you can make your Android phone quicker is to keep your home screen as clean as possible. Every time you return to the home screen or wake the computer from sleep, it doesn’t have to load all the content.
Try other launchers made for Android
android launchers
Custom launcher is a perfect way to turn your Android computer into a whole new version of itself. It might not be feasible for a custom launcher to have a major performance boost related to hardware, but some of them suck much less memory and Processor than others. Installing a lightweight custom launcher will thus make your Android phone functionally faster.
In addition, the variety of shortcuts, customizations, and other options will help to make your Android device run faster, if not faster. These applications will reduce the time that people would possibly spend in searching different apps and settings on their devices.
What to do when your Android phone freezes?
It’s hard to digest, but some evil apps and processes make our device experience the temperatures of hell. But repeatedly tapping the screen or pressing buttons would only make things worse when your Android freezes due to an app crash or when all RAM gets consumed.
Under such cases, strive to show some calmness and maturity. Most of the time, it’s just the app, and pressing the home button will take you to home screen. After that you can destroy the affected app from the Recent apps section to make Android faster.
When you press the home button, if nothing happens, press the power button gently and try to ‘reboot’ or ‘turn off’ the system. If the system is stubborn enough to resist a restart you may remove the battery. If your mobile has a non-removable battery, you can have all the time, but you may have to wait until the battery is discharged.
Developer options
There is a much popular way to make an Android device faster by tweaking some settings in the Developer Options. However, I personally don’t like this suggestion as it leaves the device without any special effects.
You can enable Developer Options on Android by going to the About section and tapping the build number five times consecutively. Then, you’ll be able to see Developer Options in the Settings. You can disable animations on the device. Set Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale to off.
This change reduces the time wasted on rendering various visual effects on the screen when you operate, making it work quicker in some sense. Go ahead if you’re fine that your device appears to be running a decade old software when it’s not.
Reset your device
Last and but not least, the ultimate option to make your Android phone faster is to perform a factory reset. You can consider it if your device has slowed down to the level that can’t do basic things.
There are two ways to reset on your Android device. First is to visit Settings and use the factory reset option present there. This would perform a soft reset of your device which involves resetting device settings and wiping all the data like your photos, videos, apps, cache, etc.
For deeper cleaning, you’ll have to boot into recovery mode and hard reset the device. After you turn off the phone, on most Android devices, recovery mode can be accessed by pressing Power and Volume Down button for around 5 to 10 seconds.
You will need to boot into recovery mode for deeper cleaning, and hard reset the computer. On most Android devices, after you turn off the handset, you can access the recovery mode by pressing the Power and Volume Down buttons for around 5 to 10 seconds.
In most situations, though, you should stick with the first process, as it will fix problems for you. And, try to back up the data before you do something.
So, these were some of the Android tips and tricks for your phone with a hope that you’d be able to give it some adrenaline rush.
Android users installing apps from third-party app stores are at risk of the BlackRock malware. How can this malware be stopped?
BlackRock malware is yet another threat worrying Android users. This newly-discovered malware can target a variety of different applications, thereby stealing your information.
Make sure you know what BlackRock malware is, and how you can protect yourself, before installing another file.
Security firm, ThreatFabric, discovered a digital danger that affects Android devices in May 2020: BlackRock malware.
Analysts however quickly discovered that BlackRock malware is not really a new threat. BlackRock malware is the product of leaked source code for Xeres malware, which is a form of trojan LokiBot banking.
Despite the fact that BlackRock malware is based on a banking trojan, it does not just affect banking apps. It also targets applications for shopping, leisure, social relations, entertainment and even dating. This extensive publicity makes it extremely risky.
It currently has 337 apps on its goal list, some of which you might be using on a regular basis. Its target applications aren’t limited to one country either — it targets applications across Europe, North America , and Australia.
ThreatFabric presents the full list of targets in its article. Some of the applications on the list include Gmail, Netflix, Snapchat, eBay, Twitter, TikTok, PayPal and more.
BlackRock malware has not been detected on the Google Play Store until now. Currently it targets downloaded apps from third-party sites, but that does not mean that BlackRock malware will never appear on the Google Play Store. Aggressive hackers also can find ways to break Google’s protection protocols.
How BlackRock Malware Steals Your Information
When BlackRock malware appears on your computer it can never be noticed by an unknowing user. It uses a technique known as a “overlay,” a fake window which pops up over a legitimate app. The overlay mixes with the software so it’s hard to say whether the pop-up is part of the app or not.
The window will ask you to enter your credit card number and login code, before you can even start using the legal app. This helps it to get the details right off the bat.
It infiltrates your device in the first place by getting Accessibility Services permissions. When you install an infected app, it’ll prompt you to enable a fake Google Update. Accepting the “Google Update” allows it to intervene with your device.
If you aren’t familiar with an Android’s Accessibility feature, you should know that it’s one of the most powerful functions on your device. It’s meant to help Android owners with disabilities, but Accessibility Services can be used to hack your phone as well. This feature can automate a variety of tasks for the user, including tapping the screen, reading text aloud, and even creating captions.
Giving BlackRock permission to use Accessibility Services lets you build the overlay that you can see when you open the target app. It also gives additional functionality to the malware, as it can then use an Android DPC (device policy controller) to grant administrator privileges to itself.
In other words, it not only steals the confidential details you type into its overlay — it can actually do a lot more than that. BlackRock does not only intercept SMS messages, mask alerts and lock your computer, it can also engage in keylogging. That said, this malware is certainly not what you want on your computer.
Protect yourself from BlackRock malware
As mentioned earlier, the Google Play Store still hasn’t found BlackRock. But just because apps from third-party app stores are currently being targeted, that doesn’t mean it’ll never make its way to Google Play.
ThreatFabric notes that it “can not yet predict how long BlackRock will be active on the threat landscape.” Meanwhile, it’s necessary to bear in mind some precautions before installing apps.
Why an anti-virus app won’t cut it
It’s not a bad idea to have an antivirus app on your smartphone, but unfortunately, an antivirus app won’t stop the BlackRock malware. When BlackRock infiltrates your phone, it has a feature that blocks you from using an antivirus app.
As soon as you open an antivirus or an Android cleaner app, such as Avast, Kaspersky, McAfee, BitDefender, or Superb Cleaner, BlackRock will immediately redirect you to your Home screen. This prevents you from removing the malware using an antivirus app.
So, if you download a sketchy app from a third-party store, and think that an antivirus app will keep you safe from all threats, think again.
Check app permissions
No matter how legit an app may seem, you should keep an eye on the app permissions. Some apps request permissions that have nothing to do with the App’s core function.
For example, your SMS messages obviously don’t need access to a flashlight app. This is a sign that you should immediately uninstall the App.
As BlackRock malware asks for permissions from Accessibility Services, you’ll want to look for any apps that require that particular privilege. If an app is legitimately for users with disabilities, has good reviews, and is from the Google Play Store, you are likely to have confidence in granting permission to the accessibility services. If not, avoid giving that privilege to any applications that don’t need it.
Download apps from Google Play Store only
Google Play Protect was put in place to scan your installed apps for malware as soon as you download them, as well as scan them periodically once installed. Third-party app stores don’t have this safety feature, so you’re pretty much on your own in terms of security.
The lack of security protocols on third-party stores has allowed BlackRock malware to thrive. To lower your risk of encountering BlackRock malware, try to avoid third-party apps stores, and refrain from downloading APKs.
Stay safe!
BlackRock malware will hopefully never hit the Google Play Store. There really isn’t any telling if the actors behind BlackRock malware can find a loophole in Google’s security policies, but if they succeed, BlackRock malware could accumulate a significant number of victims.
If BlackRock ever reaches the Google Play Store, it’s not too surprising. After all, despite Google’s strict security protocols, several apps that contain Joker malware still managed to make their way onto the Google Play Store.
Everyone is aware of the fact that because of its customization feature, Android is one of the users’ most favored operating system, setting it apart from iOS and other operating systems. Android OS allows users to make a personalized version of Android depending on their taste and interests and that’s where personalized ROMs come in.
A custom Rom is essentially a firmware based on the source code provided by the Google app. These custom roms give you the opportunity to explore exciting features and learn about the latest design you can use to customize your Android app to your needs. One positive thing about Android custom ROMs is that they are free of bloatware, while offering strong customizations at the same time.
So, if you’re a guy who loves to customize and want to personalize your computer. So get ready to learn about some of the best Custom ROMs you can try right now and these ROMs can help you get the most out of your Android device.
Pre-requisites:
Unlock Boot loader
TWRP Recovery
Before installing a custom rom in your device make sure that you have an unlocked bootloader and a custom recovery like TWRP or CWM installed.
DerpFest OS – custom ROM
After initially booting the Rom. Unlike other Custom Roms that use Pixel ‘s stock Launcher, DerpFest uses a third-party launcher named Lawnchair, when you unlock the screen it will take you to the new launcher.
This launcher is highly customizable and you can adjust any part of your user interface and home screen believe me. By using Icon Packs, Colors, Grid Styles & More, you can change the Gui feel.
Now let’s think about the user interface improvements in the Center. This ROM creates a blur effect on the different UI components. If you look at the notification bar, you can see a beautiful blur effect on the background whenever you visit the Notification Center that differentiates how it looks from the stock edition.
If you’re a guy who loves Google phones and can’t afford to buy expensive smartphones then you can install Pixel Experience ROM in your device to get a pixel screen look to yourself. This custom ROM will turn your smartphone from icon to widget into a Google app with all of the scintillating functionality.
When you get a pure look of Google computer through this ROM you don’t want more than that. It’s quite identical with the original Google Rom so it’s able to give you a large number of customizations with all the ingredients you need to customize your computer.
Many users face stability issues in custom ROMs but this problem is solved by lineage rom which is a successor of cyanogen mod rom. Lineage OS has become the most common rom among users after cyanogen discontinued.
Lineage has been able to induce a large number of users to download their ROM which in a sense cemented the position of this rom in the market.
This ROM was also the key source of development for all the other Roms, since most of the Roms out there follow the lineage rom ‘s footsteps. Lineage rom offers some better personalization than others. You may wonder why lineage rom has not been able to make it to top of the list of most custom roms after such a strong reputation in custom roms.
In fact, lineage rom is not entirely based on customization, rather it gives due importance to all the factors required for a good custom rom such as reliability , performance, battery life, etc. and to cover this broad spectrum of user needs, these roms are doing their utmost and have managed to make their mark among the custom ROMs.
Resurrection Remix
In this list, Resurrection Remix grabbed third place. This rom is also an old market player, and started its development in the early days of Android 4.0. The key highlight about RR is its feature packed menu of settings loaded with attractive customization options which captured the users’ eye ball.
Resurrection Remix ROM has managed to remain a step ahead of them in a cut throat market as all the Roms have been innovating by upgrading the rom with exciting features. In addition to architecture, looks and configuration, the RR ROM development team is continuing to incorporate fresh improvements in rom to make it an exciting experience for users.
One limiting feature about RR is that it has jam packed stuff which can disturb the harmony of your device and you may face some stability problems.
As mentioned earlier in the preconditions pages, after installing some of the roms, you’ll need to flash your computer, which may be a concern for some of you, but don’t worry we’ve got a solution to all of your problems. If you want to save your computer from any unnecessary problem when flashing your app, AOSP is one of the best custom Roms.
I ‘m saying this because I’ve been flashing the custom roms of AospExtended for some time now, but I haven’t faced any kind of problem so far. From the rom ‘s name you can assume that it has lots of AOSP extensions.
Statistics are an exciting aspect for this ROM, and since its release it has over 1.3 million downloads, and as the number suggests, this has been the users’ favorite choice.
This rom is a combination of all the necessities of a custom rom, from navbar modifications to gestures, presentation designs combined with smooth buttery UI and exotic themes. Stability of this could bother you but overall it’s one of the best custom roms you’ve got to try.
Function plus reliability, you may be waiting for these items to be merged on the list so we’re with OmniROM here. It is one of the best custom roms that has managed to retain stability across all its updates.
There are two thrilling omni highlights which are open delta and free turn. This rom was used as a model for several of the custom rom designs, too. Elegant wallpapers, simple user interface and flexible features makes this a go for the users.
Paranoid Android
Paranoid android is one of the series that you might have seen all about once in your life. This rom is famous for its feature built in house, but after release of KitKat-based AOSPA.
This has slowed down compared. This has continued to be the best Custom ROMs in the game for quite a long time now, given the slow down.
Your phone’s capacity is limited and can fill up quickly. Regularly, the apps you use to build new files to store information.
These temporary data files are known as a cache, and cache files take up a reasonable chunk of your Android phone’s storage space. Let’s look at the cache’s purpose, how to clear it out and more.
What are cache files
When you open an app, your phone uses the temporary data stored in cache files to recall the associated information more quickly. For example, Spotify might cache your most frequently accessed playlists so they don’t have to load their list of songs every time you open them.
A cache file is useful to the associated program only, so for instance, Spotify has no use for Instagram’s cache. In most cases it discards the accompanying cache files once an app decides that the stored temporary information is no longer useful. Websites, applications, and games all use cache files to provide you with a faster browsing experience.
Clearing cache benefits
Cache files are critical and you don’t usually have to screw them up. Deleting cache files from your phone manually, however, is often useful.
This can help in a few ways:
In the short term, clearing cache helps you save storage space on your phone. But this is a temporary solution, since new cache files are created every time you use apps.
Sometimes, old cache files can become corrupted. When this happens, apps can start experiencing problems. Deleting the corrupted cache files can solve these issues.
Old cache files can potentially pose security and privacy threats. Web pages cached in your browser may contain sensitive information. If an unauthorized person accessed these files, they could steal personal details.
If a browser or other app refuses to fetch the latest version of a page, clearing cache can force it to update.
Should You do it regularly?
Now that you know the advantages of clearing cache, you might think on a schedule that you should clear the cache manually. But in reality this is counter-productive. Keep in mind that cache files have the useful function of speeding access to the content you currently use.
That is why deleting old cache files by hand is not a good idea. Android also has a built-in feature to delete unused files, which usually works very well. The key occasions to remove cache files manually occur when:
An app’s cache files are corrupted, causing the app to misbehave.
You want to delete files containing personal information to protect your privacy.
You’re running out of storage space on your phone and don’t want to delete your videos, pictures, and apps.
For new versions of Android, the cache files for each device need to be removed individually. Notice that all of the cache is seldom removed. Clearing the cache from a few problematic apps can in most cases solve storage or performance problems.
Open Settings and select Storage.
In the resulting list, tap the Other Apps entry. This will take you to a list of all the apps installed on your phone.
Choose an app that holds a lot of cache files. You can tap the three-dot menu in the top-right and choose Sort by size to see which apps take up the most space. We’ll use Chrome as an example.
On the app’s info page, tap the Clear Cache option.
That’s all you need to do to clear the cache files for any app on your phone. If you tap Clear Storage instead, you’ll remove all data from the app. This essentially resets it to a fresh state.Advertisement
Older Android versions gave you the option to delete all cached files at once by going to Settings > Storage > Cached Data. From there, simply tap OK when you see the option to delete all cache files.
What happens after clearing cache?
After you clear the cache files, you’ll regain some storage space and the app will continue to work as normal. However, all the data it used to smooth out performance is gone, so it may take some extra time to browse around at first. Over time, the app will build up cache again based on your usage.
Clearing cache files will not force you to log into apps again. You won’t lose data like game progress, browser bookmarks, or similar.
Your Android phone’s storage space is a precious commodity. Clearing unused cache files is a decent way to free up space temporarily or troubleshoot app issues. But it’s not something you should do often, or through unreliable third-party apps.
Mozilla was busy working on a revised version of Firefox for Android, which is now live in the Beta and Nightly (previously Preview) channels of the browser. If you’re still on Firefox ‘s regular stable version for Android, though, you should update right now.
Firefox 68.10.1 is now running on the Play Store, which fixes a critical vulnerability that theoretically could allow remote web pages to read local files, including cookies from other websites:
A Content Provider in Firefox for Android allowed local files accessible by the browser to be read by a remote webpage, leading to sensitive data disclosure, including cookies for other origins.
There are not many public information about how the bug operates, but malicious sites won’t be able to take advantage of it until it’s widely patched, but only the classic Firefox browser will be affected. If you are using the versions Beta or Nightly / Preview, there’s nothing to worry about. Firefox browsers are also unaffected on other systems (Windows, macOS, and so forth).
If you are using the standard Android Firefox, you certainly need to update as soon as possible. The latest version (68.10.1) is already up and running on the Play Store, but you can grab it from APKMirror as well.
Android and its pre-installed apps come practically free, but Google still earns a pretty big penny thanks to targeted web-wide ads. Your phone is actually helping the company tailor marketing strategies to you. There are a few options to make Google less invasive on your smartphone by turning off any default monitoring settings, if you don’t like that and a move to iOS isn’t your jam. However, you need to be aware that this will break a couple of features.
Not all monitoring is poor per se, in my view, but we should also pause to consider what we’re really learning from it. For example, you may see little point in continuously sharing your location history with Google, but you might still be interested in being able to find and/or delete your device remotely if it’s stolen or misplaced — that’s why I ‘d recommend not turning off the Locate My Device feature of Google.
If you’re one of the fortunate few who have already received Android 10, head to Settings-> Privacy to tweak what personal details you ‘re sharing with Google. You will find in it everything this article discusses about your Google Account and Android settings. These solutions are spread around Android for everyone else, but don’t worry: we ‘re here to help you find them all and we’ll also share the benefits and drawbacks that come with changing them.
Location History and Tracking
You may know that Google stores a history of all the places you’ve visited by default, accessible via Google Maps -> Your Timeline. While Google says it protects this data and doesn’t share it with third parties, you might still be uncomfortable knowing the company has a complete track record of your every step (while carrying your phone). It’s possible to turn off this location tracking altogether, but to do so thoroughly, you need to flip quite a few switches. That’s why we’ve published a whole other article on the issue. Check it out here.
Keep in mind that turning off Location History comes with some minor disadvantages: Your timeline in Google Maps won’t update anymore, your Google Assistant will lose some capabilities, and your automatic commuting notifications will stop appearing.
Prevent apps from tracking your location in background
Android 10 improves some of Android’s notoriously bad privacy practices of old, as you can finally prevent both third-party and first-party apps from polling your location in the background, limiting their location access to only while in use.
Head to Settings -> apps & notifications -> Permissions manager -> Location. There, you’ll find a list of all apps installed on your phone. You can individually set limits for each by choosing a tier: Allowed all the time, allowed only while in use, or denied. I keep most of my apps on the medium setting, as many of them offer added benefits when they have access to my location, especially navigation apps.
On older versions of Android, you’ll need to choose between always allowing and always prohibiting access to the location. You should carefully evaluate which apps you trust, and check what you gain from sharing your location with an app. For example, in a hotel booking app, you probably won’t be searching for accommodation in your current vicinity, and probably won’t need to offer it access to your place. Other apps allow you to set your address manually, too, like weather apps or food delivery services. With the slight inconvenience of typing in your address they give the same features.
Opt out of Google’s personalizations
To hinder Google from following you around the web, head to your Google Account’s activity controls, accessible here and under Settings -> Google -> Manage your Google Account -> Manage your data & personalization.
In there, you can turn off Web & App Activity, but note that Google results might become less accurate when you do this. You’ll also stop Google from collecting data on your Google Assistant usage which severely limits its usefulness. For example, the Assistant won’t respond to personal queries like “What’s on my calendar?” or “Read my messages” on any device, including Home speakers — Google sure wants you to supply your data to continue using the Assistant. If you’re adamant about protecting your privacy, you should probably stop using Google Home speakers and the Assistant altogether anyway.
You can proceed by turning off YouTube History and, more importantly, Ad personalization. When you do that, Google will stop pushing personalized advertisements to you and will instead show you more generic, less relevant content. According to Google, it will solely be based on “general factors, like the subject of what you’re looking at, the time of day, or your general location.”
You’ll also need to head to myactivity.google.com to delete previously stored information. On that website, open the hamburger menu by tapping the three bars in the top left corner and choose “Delete activity by.” Then you can select which activity you’d like to remove.
On Android 10, all of these settings have been moved to one location, easily accessible in Settings -> Privacy. While you’re there, be sure to turn off the following, too:
Turn off Autofill service from Google.
Turn off Usage & Diagnostics.
Turn off backups
To turn off backups to Google’s servers, head to Settings -> System -> Backup. There, you can toggle off Back up to Google Drive.
Keep in mind that none of your precious data will be automatically restored when you lose or break your phone when you do this. You’ll have to back up your contacts or ask friends and family for their phone numbers, you’ll need to manually sign back into apps you’ve used on your old phone, you’ll lose custom device settings including Wi-Fi passwords, and your photos and videos won’t be backed up. Assess carefully whether having some peace of mind regarding this data is worth a privacy tradeoff or not.
Also consider switching to a privately hosted server using ownCloud or similar open source solutions to sync your files and backup your data.
Third-party software if is possible
If you don’t want to get Google tracked, consider using third-party software over pre-installed Google apps. There are plenty of email providers, cloud storage tools, note-taking applications, and navigation systems out there that don’t rely on Google software like Microsoft Outlook, Dropbox, Bundled or Evernote, and Here Maps. If you want to go all in on privacy, you should even consider open-source substitutions. That’s no guarantee that your data is secure, but code is mostly peer-controlled and often not in a single company’s hands. My colleague Corbin has created a series of articles that highlight alternatives to rising Google apps.
Some Google apps can even be safely deactivated by tapping and holding their icons in the app drawer or homescreen, tapping the i button, and choosing disable. Be careful with this, though, as some apps like Google Search are necessary to keep your phone up and running. Something like Play Music or YouTube should be safe to disable, though.
Other browser
If you’re concerned about Google Chrome’s tracking mechanisms, consider switching to another browser that keeps your privacy intact. I’d argue Firefox (especially the all-new preview version) and Firefox Focus are the best choices since they rely on a browser engine not created by Google. Many other third-party browsers use Google Chrome’s rendering engine, which is not good for the health of the web. If you’re not satisfied with Firefox, you might still want to try Microsoft Edge, Samsung Internet, or Vivaldi.
You can make any of these your default browser by choosing “Always open with this app” when you tap a link in another application. If you use the Google app, you’ll notice that it still opens links in a custom Chrome tab. To make the search engine use your preferred third-party browser, head to the More bottom tab -> Settings -> Generaland turn off Open web pages in the app.
Make Chrome less hungry for your data, head to the browser’s settings (three-dot menu -> Settings -> Search engine) and change the search engine to another provider — among the ones listed, DuckDuckGo.com is your best option concerning privacy. Its results often aren’t as spot on as Google’s, though — there’s a reason why the company is still king of search.
Incognito mode?
Contrary to popular belief, any browser’s incognito or private mode only goes so far when you want to stay low-profile online. Your ISP and public Wi-Fi providers might still be able to see which websites you visit. The same is true for some ad trackers that rely on a unique combination of your hardware, software, and IP address rather than cookies to track you across both incognito and regular mode. If you truly want to stay anonymous, consider trying the Firefox-based Tor Browser. It routes your queries through a bunch of servers to obscure your online movements.
Custom ROMs
One surefire way to avoid being tracked by Google altogether is installing a custom ROM without any Google apps on it. Many apps rely on Google Play Services, which provide essentials like push notifications and location data. What you can do is use a ROM with microG, an open-source replacement for many functions provided by Play Services.
However, just because custom ROMs are open source doesn’t mean that someone went looking for malicious code in the source. You should stay away from obscure forks and you should absolutely preface any custom ROM installation with a ton of research. Google promises not to sell your data to third parties and would face severe consequences if it did because so many people, businesses, and governments rely on its services. An individual ROM developer distributing free software to a few people would be much harder to keep in check.
