Nobody told me about these 4 Google Play features — now they’re non-negotiable

I’m not an app addict, but even if I were one, I wouldn’t open the Google Play Store every day to try new apps.

I no longer feel the same urgency to open the Google Play Store as I once did, but it remains an essential component of Android.

It’s something you need at least once when you buy a new Android phone and when updating apps.

I recently opened the Google Play Store to download and install a commute and travel management app from Indian Railways.

It was a hassle-free experience, just as you’d expect. But there are other reasons to feel happy about my last Google Play Store session.

I noticed some interesting UI improvements that make the Play Store more accessible and look better. I also discovered numerous new features. They are all exciting and useful.

I don’t claim I’ll need them every time I open the Google Play Store. But I feel they are all but necessary. They are non-negotiable.

Per-app auto update control

I have an unlimited broadband connection in my home, but I still don’t allow the Play Store to auto-update all my apps.

The resistance comes from the fear that a bad app update can break something essential. My concern is primarily about apps that I use daily for my work.

In the Network preferences setting in Google Play Store, I enable the Don’t auto-update app option for this reason. But the issue with this was that it disabled auto-update across all apps.

But it’s no longer a problem for me, as I can now set auto-update on a per-app basis. It’s easy to do.

You can do it right after tapping the Install button. When the Play Store downloads and installs the app, tap the three-dot menu and select the Enable auto-update checkbox.

Google Play will remember this setting until you change it.

If you uninstall the app and then reinstall it again, it’ll auto-update just like before unless you uncheck the auto-update box.

None of this will alter the Network preferences that you set up from the Settings page. It just creates an exception to this rule.

So, you set auto-update to never, but still allow some apps to break the rule.

I wish I had found it sooner, but it’s always better late than never.

Download manager

Download manager debuted in the Play Store not too long ago, but I spotted it only recently, while downloading an app from Indian Railways.

The shortcut to the Download manager appears at the top of the Play Store, on the left of the notification icon. It’s a circle with a check mark inside it.

Tap the shortcut, and it’ll reveal all the apps and games you recently installed on your phone. The Play Store also lets you open those apps directly from the Download manager.

The Download Manager also shows how old the app installations are.

When you tap Install on the Play Store, the shortcut icon replaces its check mark with the download icon to indicate that the download is in progress.

If you tap it, the Play Store will open the Download manager, showing the app that’s currently downloading alongside previous installs.

I don’t always need it, but it’s the best and quickest way to check out all the apps and games you recently installed on your phone.

Auto open when ready

This one is easy to spot. It’s available as a toggle called Auto-open when ready.

The toggle appears just below the name of the app title on the download page, right after you tap the Install button.

However, this doesn’t grant permission to the Play Store to auto-open all your apps right after finishing installation. You’ll need to enable it for each app individually.

I enabled the toggle after tapping the Install button and went back to what I was doing. Naturally, I was expecting my phone to open the app automatically after finishing the installation.

It did exactly that without notifying me. I was making some small edits to a Word document during the installation.

After a few seconds, a notification with a countdown timer appeared showing how many seconds were left before the app would open automatically.

It understands the risk of opening a new app all of a sudden.

The notification also features Cancel and Open options. You tap the former if you don’t want to wait. If you are working on something important, you can cancel the auto-opening from the notification countdown timer.

It’s worth noting that the Play Store will push the notification with the countdown timer even when you don’t work on anything else on your phone.

Check apps’ changelog without going to the download page

To check the changelog of the latest app updates, I used to visit the download page of each app.

Recently, I realized that it isn’t the best way to check out all the features the publisher has added in the latest update.

Now, I tap the profile icon, select the Manage apps and device option, and tap the Manage tab. It shows the complete list of apps installed on my phone.

It also shows a checkbox and a down arrow next to each title. To reveal the changelog, you need to tap the down arrow.

The changelog will be of the version that’s currently installed on your phone. If you want to see the changelog of the recently updated apps, make sure to choose the Recently updated filter.

If you no longer like any particular title, tap the checkbox to select it, and click the Delete icon at the top. This will uninstall the selected app from your phone.

Google Play Store is the best source for getting apps

Bad actors somehow find a way to exploit the flaws in Android and publish apps that are designed to steal users’ personal data without their consent.

Although not without issues, Google Play Store is still the safest and most convenient way to get Android apps.

That’s how I do it, instead of using some Play Store alternatives.

I never needed to install anything outside the Google Play Store. Hopefully, I will never need to do it in the future as well, at least not on my primary handset.

I also love how Google Play Store positions itself as something more than a place for installing and updating apps.

While hosting apps is one of its core functionalities, it allows users to send which apps are installed on which devices.

It also has Play Protect, a feature that can automatically scan all apps on your phone to find anything harmful.

The Play Store also allows users to set Network preferences for app downloads and updates. If you have limited mobile data like me, you’re better off setting it to Wi-Fi only.

This is my small list of features that work behind the scenes on the Google Play Store to make my Android experience better. The newly found features take it to a different level.