Android 11 to get an iOS like hidden trash bin

Android 11 will bring a host of new features to Android’s ecosystem. The list includes features such as a darker dark mode, lock screen media controls, biometric authentication and one time-time permissions among other things. In addition to these features, Android 11 will also get a hidden recycle bin.

Up until now, when a user deletes a file it is completely erased from the system. This changes with Android 11. Google’s next generation mobile operating system comes with a CreateTrashRequest API that creates a trash bin where deleted files are stored temporarily.

“Apps can now choose to trash a file instead of deleting them. This gives the user a chance to recover the files later,” Android Product Manager Roxanna Aliabadi said in a video posted on the Android Developers YouTube channel.

What happens is that when a user deletes a file, say an image from the Gallery, that image will be moved to the Trash. Files in Trash will be hidden by default but they can be displayed if an app wants to. These files will be automatically deleted by the operating system after 30 days. However, they can be un-trashed at any time before their expiration date by an app that has access to it or by the user's consent.

This is somewhat similar to the Recently Deleted folder available within apps on the iPhone wherein files get stored after deletion from the main menu until the user chooses to either delete them permanently or restore them. However, unlike iOS, Android 11 is placing a time limit within which the file can be recovered.

Apart from the Trash, Android 11 is also introducing a new file status called Favourite. Until now, users could start files within the Gallery file of their phones. Now this feature will work across apps, which in turn would allow developers and by extension users to highlight certain files differently.