Android Settings You May Not Know About

If you're a typical smartphone user, you spend an average of almost five hours a day on your phone. But aside from videos and social media apps, you may not be aware of the gadgets and settings that can make those hours easier or even shorter.

Android's Settings screen is packed with more options than you probably realize, options that can make your phone easier to use, keep your data safe, and allow you to connect to other devices faster. All of this appears in the Settings app on the latest version of Android 13 in the so-called "pure Android" you get on Google Pixel devices and other light-touch models, but other phones like those from Samsung or Motorola should have similar options in similar places.

Turn on Wi-Fi automatically

If you are away from home or at the office, you may have Wi-Fi turned off. If so, Android can turn it back on when you're back in range of the network you previously signed in to. Go to Network & Internet, then Internet & Network Preferences, and look for the Turn Wi-Fi on automatically switch.

Use less data

If you are in a foreign country, have a limited data plan or are in an area with poor mobile coverage, you can make your phone use less data by tapping Network & Internet and Data saver. This works in a number of different ways: For example, some apps may check for updates less often, while images on the web may not load until you tap them.

Add additional security for contactless payments

Apps like Google Pay let you pay with your phone through the magic of NFC, meaning anyone who picks up your phone can potentially pay with it. You can prevent this by making NFC payments require the screen to be unlocked. Go to Connected devices, Connection preferences, NFC and turn on Require device unlock for NFC.

Start driving mode automatically

Android now comes with a special driving mode that makes it easier to perform certain actions using voice commands and suppress other notifications. You can set this mode to start automatically when your phone connects to your car's Bluetooth stereo: To set this feature, select Connected devices, Connection preferences and Driving mode.

Set default apps on your phone

Certain actions, such as opening links or receiving calls, require assigning default applications. To control which applications are associated with which tasks, select Applications and then Default applications - you can then select the type of application (such as a web browser) and choose which one is used first. All available applications corresponding to this type will be displayed on the screen.

Manage what apps on your phone can do

Apps often require permission to access certain data or parts of your device, such as your contacts and your phone's location. To view – and adjust if necessary – these permissions, or to restrict access to them only when you're using an app, open Apps, then select Show all apps and select a specific app. Then tap Permissions to review the settings and make changes. You will also be shown the last use of a particular set of permissions.

Suspend permissions on unused apps

You don't want old apps you no longer use to keep their permissions, so Android now suspends permissions by default on apps you haven't used in a while. To control this on a per-app basis, select Apps, then Show all apps, select an app, and select Permissions and Suspend app activity when not in use. (By the way, now is a good time to delete any apps you don't really use anymore.)

Check your notification history

Android keeps a record of your notifications in case you downloaded them too quickly and need to get them back. You can turn this feature on and view recent notifications from your apps by selecting Notifications and then Notification History. Note that this list shows notifications that are currently snoozed as well as notifications that you have closed.

Hide sensitive notifications on the lock screen

You don't necessarily want sensitive or personal notifications to appear on your lock screen where anyone can read them. You can prevent this by selecting Notifications and turning off the Sensitive notifications switch. The sensitivity of notifications is actually controlled by the developer of the app sending them, but direct messages will usually be included.

Hide silent notifications

You probably get enough notifications without all the silent ones. These are the ones that might tell you the weather or that there's traffic in your area or that a podcast is downloading in the background. If you don't want these to appear on your phone and distract you, select Notifications and enable Hide silent notifications in the status bar.

Show battery percentage in status bar

It can be tricky to tell how much battery power you have left on your phone by looking at the little icon in the status bar. To see a percentage next to it, select Battery, then turn on the Battery percentage switch. All other icons on the status bar will move to the left accordingly, and the usual battery life icon will remain in place.

See which apps are using the most storage

If you're running out of space on your phone, see which apps are taking up the most space by going to Storage, then Apps. The largest applications in terms of storage space are displayed at the top of the list. The numbers shown include all of the app's files—so the number of Spotify playlists and Netflix shows downloaded, as well as the actual Spotify and Netflix apps, for example.

Add live captions to videos

Captioning speech in videos – in real time – is available on a growing number of Android phones and is useful even if you're not hearing impaired. You can find this option by tapping Sound & Vibration and then Live Transcript. Captions generated by Google's AI processing are then automatically displayed whenever speech is detected, whether it's a social media video or a video call.

Lock the screen earlier

The lock screen protects your phone from unwelcome users, so ideally you want it to activate as quickly as possible once you put it down. You can change this duration by opening the screen and selecting the Screen Timeout option from the list - you'll usually be able to choose a duration from a few seconds to a few minutes.

Zoom in on everything on the screen

If you can't read text on the screen, go to Settings > Display & display size and text. You'll see two sliders, one for Font Size (which makes the text bigger or smaller) and one for Display Size (which makes everything bigger or smaller, including icons and menus). Click Reset Settings to return to default settings.

Unlock your device in trusted places

If there are certain places you're sure your phone won't be accessed by untrusted people—like at home—you can have the screen automatically unlock in those places for added convenience. Go to Security, then Advanced Settings, then Smart Lock, and finally Trusted Places. Add a location and you're good to go.

Add your medical information

Suppose you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a medical emergency. In this case, you may not be able to tell emergency responders your blood type, medications, allergies, and other important information. However, you can tell your phone – via Safety & Emergency and Medical – and those details will then be accessible from the lock screen.

Set app usage limits

If you're worried about spending too much time on TikTok or Twitter, Android can help you out. If you tap Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls and then choose Dashboard, you'll see how much time you've spent in specific apps throughout the day — and, if necessary, set limits on how long you can use them in the future.

Enable guest mode

Guest mode is a great way to let other people use your phone without having access to your social media accounts, banking apps or your game high scores. It works just like a user account on macOS or Windows, and you can set it up on Android by choosing System, Multiple Users, then enabling Enable Multiple Users.