Google’s Android 12 leaked build reveals ‘auto-hibernation’ feature for apps

Google is expected to lift the lid off from its Android 12 OS officially during its upcoming Google IO developers conference. While some of the features have already been confirmed by the company, some are still being found out by developers. One of the newest features mentioned in the list is the auto-hibernation of apps. Spotted by XDA Developers, this was found in one of the leaked builds of Android 12.

As per the report, if a customer doesn’t use an app for almost two months, the OS will automatically place the app in hibernation and delete its temporary data, leaving some more space in your handset for other files and apps. This is said to come in addition to the ‘auto revoke permissions’ feature that was introduced in Android 11. The feature auto reverted app permissions if you didn’t use it for a while.

Also read: Android 12 leak shows tons of new features: Here are the details

According to the report, the auto-hibernate feature was discovered in the “Unused Apps” page inside Settings > Apps. In the screenshot, the “If an app is unused for a few months” section inside Unused apps also states that:

-Permissions are removed to protect your data.

-Notifications are stopped to save battery.

-Temporary files are removed to free up space.

However, since this feature was seen in a leaked Android 12 build, it is still not for sure if Google will bring it to official developer beta or not.

Besides, Android 12 is also said to ‘copy’ one of iOS features from last year. In 2020, Apple introduced the iOS 14 operating system with several new privacy-friendly features. One of these was a clipboard access alert system, that would “snitch” on any apps that copied from the system clipboard in the background. According to a recent feature leak, it appears that Google will be bringing the same functionality to Android 12 later this year.