Operating System

Android is the most popular mobile OS worldwide by market share. It is said to be based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and it functions primarily on touchscreen mobile devices. Android was written in Java, C, and C++. It is open-sourced freeware but most devices include the proprietary Google Play Services. The initial release was on September 23, 2008, and it is available in 100+ spoken languages. Android ships with features like the home screen, status bar, notifications, app lists, navigation buttons, split-screen view, and 'charging while powered off' among other default features.

Most Android devices are preinstalled with Gmail, Google Maps, Google Chrome, and YouTube. The user interface layout differs with different device manufacturers, for example, Samsung has One UI. The list of device manufacturers is endless as more organizations have started to adopt and personalize Android. Below is a list of Android tools that may or may not be essential.

Location History

The first one is Location History. In the Settings app, under Privacy > Google Location History, you can view information about where you go with your device. You can receive personalized maps, and recommendations based on places you've visited even when you aren't using a specific Google Service. There is also the added ability to view the devices that use the same active account, as well as auto-delete activity older than 3 months.

A screenshot of the Google Location History menu in the settings app on An Android Device

The data saved in your account helps to give you more personalized experiences across all Google services. You can choose which settings will save data in your Google Account.

Android System Intelligence

With Android System Intelligence, the user can get suggestions based on people, apps, and content they interact with. You can control whether certain apps use information from the phone's data or Google account to offer personalized suggestions.

In order to manage permissions for phone-based personalized suggestions:

1. Open phone settings.
2. Tap Apps > See all apps.
3. At the top right, tap More > Show system.
4. Tap Android System Intelligence > Permissions.
5. Tap the app that you want to change.
6. Tap Allow or Don't Allow.

In order to manage permissions for Google Account-based personalized suggestions:

1. Open phone settings.
2. Tap Privacy > Android System Intelligence.
3. Turn Customise the experience using your Google Account data on or off.

Lastly, to delete device data, under Privacy > Android System Intelligence, tap Clear data. You can also choose how much data you would like to clear.

A screenshot of the Android System Intelligence feature in the settings app:

When your phone stores information to make personalized suggestions, that info is encrypted before it's stored. Your phone doesn't back up any information used to make personal suggestions to your Google Account, except if it's used to suggest apps. In the event that you get a new phone, the new device can recommend apps. The types of suggestions that can be provided are the following:

• Captions for your videos, podcasts, and audio calls. When Live Caption is turned on, captions appear from any media or calls on your phone.
• Keep your screen on. Screen attention can prevent your screen from turning off when it detects that someone is looking at it. This function works even if you don't tap the screen. Screen attention uses the front camera to determine if someone is looking at the screen before it turns off.
• Actions related to your notifications. Device Personalization Services add smart action buttons to phone notifications that provide assistance with getting directions for example.
• Improved text suggestions.
• Add a boarding pass with a screenshot. When you take a screenshot on Pixel 3 and 4 phones, you can add boarding passes to Google Pay. The boarding pass will appear as a notification which can be accessed in the power menu.

Usage & Diagnostics

Sending information about how a device is used can help to improve Android. If usage and diagnostics is turned on, the device sends info to Google about what's working and not working. This includes information like:

• Battery life which involves information about what's using the most battery to help make common features use less battery.
• Frequency of app usage.
• The quality and length of your network connections (mobile, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth).
• Crashing or freezing on devices. Collecting this kind of information can make the Android operating system more reliable.

To enable/disable sending usage and diagnostics info to Google:

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap Google > Usage & diagnostics or just search for it in settings.
3. Turn Usage & diagnostics on or off.

Android Auto

Android Auto is a screen-sharing feature that allows the user to connect their phone to the car. This displays the Android user interface on the screen of your vehicle. The user can customize the launcher by choosing which apps will show in the car screen launcher. There are also hands-free voice commands like 'Hey Google' detection, day/night mode for apps, and configuration to start Android Auto automatically. One other great thing you can do is enable Google Analytics which also enables background reporting of app crashes and usage statistics. This requires the app to be restarted. A user can also expect to be able to configure the following:

• Google Assistant - Users can set the weather, home/work locations, and more for Google Assistant.
• Show the weather on the car screen. The date is obtained using the phone's location.
• Driver seat location.
• Show conversations.
• Show group conversations.
• Wireless Android Auto.

Android Auto can be found by accessing the settings app, and then going to Advanced features.

Developer Tools

If you're a developer or curious cat 🐱 like me, then you may want to see the other hidden settings. Developer tools is a feature that gives the phone user control over certain aspects of the device. When it's turned on, you can see the following information:

• Memory
• Bug report
• Enable Bluetooth HCI snoop log
• OEM unlocking
• Running services
• Configuring the picture color mode
• Access to USB debugging: USB debugging is intended for development purposes only. It can be used to copy data between the computer and PDA device, as well as install apps on the device.
• Toggle wireless debugging.

To switch on Developer Tools, go to Settings > About phone > Software Information and then continuously click on Build number which will alert you that you are a few steps away from turning on developer mode. The system will then request your device password to continue. To turn it off, go back to Settings and scroll down to the bottom where you will find a new menu item that says Developer options that opens a menu that displays a toggle icon.

A screenshot that shows the configuration of developer tools:

Easy Mode

Easy mode is accessible through Settings > Display. It is an accessibility feature that simplifies touchscreen functionality. With Easy Mode turned on, a simple Home screen layout will be rendered with big on-screen items, a longer touch-and-hold delay to prevent accidental actions, and a high-contrast keyboard for better readability.

An image that shows Easy Mode on Android:

An image that shows Default Mode on Android:

An image that shows a High Contrast keyboard in Easy Mode on Android:

Quick Share

Quick Share is an alternative to other data transfer networks like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct. It is accessible through the system tray, by dragging it down, as Quick Share. Alternatively, you could go to the Settings app, under Advanced features. Quick share allows you to send files to a compatible device very quickly. Users can view link-sharing history from the menu. In addition, it's possible to configure who can share with you, convert videos to a compatible format, use Wi-Fi only, or Auto delete expired files.

An image that shows Quick Share in the Android system tray:

Google Play Protect

Google Play Protect checks your apps and devices for harmful behavior. It runs a safety check on apps from the Google Play Store before downloading them. This feature is also responsible for checking your device for potentially harmful apps from other sources or malware. It can warn the user about potentially harmful apps and it may deactivate or remove harmful apps from your device. There is an 'Unwanted Software Policy' which if violated, will warn the user by hiding important information.

Google Play Protect is on by default, but you can turn it off.

1. Open the Google Play Store app.
2. At the top right, tap the profile icon.
3. Tap Play Protect > Settings.
4. Turn Scan apps with Play Protect on or off.

Users can turn on the 'Improve harmful app detection' setting which allows Google Play Protect to automatically send unknown apps to Google.

COVID-19 Exposure Notifications

This is a recent feature that came with the software update during the COVID-19 extreme lockdown. It is a preventative measure that is meant to inform users about locations with high coronavirus cases recorded. It is accessible by going to Settings and searching for 'COVID'. The menu requires the user to select their region from the list of available options. If you're like me and you live in Zimbabwe, you will receive a message that says 'Exposure notifications isn't currently available.'

A screenshot of an Android device that shows the unavailability of a feature:

Ads

Google shows ads on Google products like Search, YouTube, and Play. The data used to personalize ads on these products is primarily based on your activity on these products. Google's ad network is also used by third parties to show ads on non-Google websites and apps. It is one of many ad networks that can personalize ads based on your online activity.

Ads that Google shows can be personalized based on many factors, like the types of websites you visit or mobile apps you've installed. Personalized ads are sourced from:

• Types of websites you visit, and mobile apps you have installed on your device.
• Cookies on your browser and the settings in your Google Account.
• Websites and apps you've visited that belong that advertise with Google.
• Your activity on another device.
• Previous interactions with Google's ads or advertising services.
• Your Google Account activity and information.

If ad personalization is off, ads may still use non-personal data, such as your general location or the topics on the website or app you're looking at. You can control how Google personalizes Google ads, or turn off personalization of Google ads.

To reset your device's advertising ID:

1. On your Android device, go to Settings.
2. Tap Privacy > Ads.
3. Tap Reset advertising ID and confirm your changes.

To delete your device's advertising ID:

1. On your Android device, go to Settings.
2. Tap Privacy > Ads.
3. Tap Delete advertising ID and confirm your changes.

So there you have it, 10 features that you might not have discovered on your Android device. Some of them are hidden behind several screens making them generally inaccessible, but I hope this article has taught you something new. Which of these features did you know already?

Thank you for reading

P.S. This article was written based on the Samsung Galaxy S10e device. Let me know what you think about this article via this link.