Android 15 DP2: App archiving integrated into Settings

Abner Li | Mar 21 2024 - 12:30 pm PT

Android 15 Developer Preview 2 is rolling out today and integrates app archiving right into system Settings.

Instead of “Open” (which clunkily gets moved to the top-right corner), there’s now an “Archive” button next to “Uninstall” in App info. Tapping immediately completes the action with an “Archived [app]” toast message. There are no explanatory prompts right now, while system applications cannot be archived.

On your homescreen and app launcher, the icon is grayed out with a cloud/download icon overlaid. Tapping starts the download process from the Play Store. Alternatively, you can go back to App info and hit “Restore.”

Android 15 remembers what permissions you previously granted after an app is restored.

This system-level app archiving capability as of Android 15 Developer Preview 2 does not appear to be integrated with Google Play, which added something similar last year.

Meanwhile, the “Pause app activity if unused” on/off toggle in App info has been renamed to “Manage app if unused: Remove permissions, delete temporary files, stop notifications, and archive the app.”