Hello, Android community! Let’s kick off a discussion on app organization and decluttering 📱🧹. How often do you clean up your app lists, and what are some apps you have recently removed?
We all tend to accumulate various apps over time, and it’s helpful to review and prune the list regularly. So, how do you approach this task?
- Do you have a set schedule, or do you clean up whenever you notice your app list getting too cluttered?
- Do you use any tools or techniques to figure out what to remove?
- Are there particular types of apps that you find yourself removing more frequently?
- Is there any feature or functionality you wish were built into Android OS?
Feel free to share any tips or strategies you employ to keep your app list tidy.
Typically, I get the system alert that says permissions have been removed from certain apps since I haven’t used them. I’ll review the list and delete what I don’t use.
That’s a good point, Samsung phones (and other brands) put apps that you haven’t used in a while into deep sleep. That deep sleep list would be a good way to find apps that you should probably remove.
But I’m going to use them eventually, I swear!
For sure! I believe you!
This is usually how I end up noticing something should probably be purged.
My phone every couple of months give me a list of apps that I haven’t use jm a while and ask me to put them on ‘invernation’, if I see is something I have no plans to use anymore I just removed them, otherwise they getting inverned.
You mean hibernation?
You’re right, it’s “invernacion” in Spanish, my first language, and it slipped up.
My home screen is essentially one page with 2 rows of folders. Each folder has a name (eg: Messaging, Games, Tools, etc). Apps I want to keep are inside those folders. The apps I’m testing, temporary apps, etc, are on my home screen (outside the folders), so I always know I have to deal with them (either remove them or keep them/move to a folder).
For the apps I already have, since I have to open the folders regularly, I can see what’s there. If I see something I won’t use anymore, I remove it. I might keep more than one app installed for the same purpose while testing, but eventually remove the ones I don’t want.
To keep my device’s storage clean, I use a normal file manager (Material Files on F-Droid).
So I don’t really have the need for any cleaning app or Android feature. I also don’t have “cleaning days” as I clean the phone as I use it or when I’m not doing anything.
This is probably something I should do. However realistically it only happens every few years when I change my phone or do a full reset
Typically whenever I notice an app I decide to delete or every time I do a fresh install, which is when I get a new phone or a new version of Android comes out
I personally like SD Maid, which recently began a full refresh as SD Maid SE, for the actual cleanups (including random data for already-deleted apps). I keep it updated using Obtainium. It also has Shizuku support for us non-rooted folks!
I don’t have fixed schedule, I just occasionally check for any available updates for my apps and individually update each app. App that I think isn’t worth it, I uninstall. Useless app that rarely updates will stay in my phone longer than the one that does.
I’m lazy and rarely do
I try to only install apps that I need. Of course my needs slowly change over time, and there bound to be some strugglers left behind.
I don’t have a scheduled spring cleaning, but when I scroll down the app drawer and notice an app I no longer use, I’ll go on a short cleaning spree.
Just today I replaced a faulty smart plug with a new one from another brand, so the corresponding app got the axe too.
I use the JINA Drawer App Organizer app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobeedom.android.jinaFS) and sort on Less Used apps to identify potential apps for removal.
Both Android and the Play Store can already show you your least used apps, what does this app do differently?
JINA also shows usage info for apps that were not installed from the Play Store (for example, from F-Droid, GitHub, etc.).
