Google packs every new Android update with tons of useful features, most of which stay under the radar while being in the limelight. As we head into the 17th major Android release cycle this year, it’s easier than ever to keep track of how much has been added over time.
In addition to the headline features you’re probably already aware of, Android has a long list of lesser-known features and tools, as well as many more enhancements added by manufacturers. Many of them can really improve everyday use, but most people don’t even know they exist. So here are some of the dark features I use all the time and you might want to start using too.
Thanks to the notification history, I no longer worry about dismissing notifications by mistake
Android keeps a secret record of the notifications you clear
Let’s be honest, everyone deletes a notification or two throughout the day without even thinking about it. Action practically became second nature. You scroll down, clean up the mess, and move on—especially when you wake up from a midday nap and haven’t even had a sip of coffee yet.
The problem is that minutes or hours later you try to remember what you actually rejected.
Sometimes nothing happens. Other times it is not. A follow-up email from your boss lands in your inbox the next day asking why you missed the quarterly meeting. A friend is getting a little passive-aggressive because you’ve never taken them up on a date. Or if you’re particularly unlucky like me, you miss a dentist appointment and end up having to beg them to reschedule you.
The good news is that Android has it notification history feature it lets you check every notification you swipe. The bad news is that you have to know it’s there because it’s not readily available in the notification shade; instead, it’s hidden in your phone’s settings.
You can enable and access Notification History by following the link Parameters > Notifications and Quick Settings > More settings > Notification history. Alternatively, you can just use the search bar and type “Notification history”. Once activated, you will be able to see a log of your recently cleared notifications.
You can return to the same menu when you want to view the notifications you’ve dismissed. If you have a Pixel phone, you can tap too No notification text when you pull down the notification shade to directly open the notification history. Unfortunately, this shortcut doesn’t work for me OnePlus 15.
- SoC
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Screen
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6.78 inch 2772*1272 (FHD+)
The OnePlus 15 features the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which enables gaming features never before seen in a smartphone. The 165Hz display is perfect for mobile gaming, and when not gaming it runs at 120Hz, making it ideal for everyday use. The triple camera array is pretty great and the 7,300 mAh battery lasts for days on a single charge.
The hidden “Alt-Tab” gesture helps me multitask faster
A quick swipe can take you to the last app you used
One of the most common actions I do hundreds of times a day is opening and closing programs. I’ve found that the fastest way to do this is not to open the recent apps screen, but to simply swipe from the bottom edge of the screen from left to right.
You can also reverse it from right to left to go back to the last app you used, and there’s no limit to how far you can swipe. It’s pretty much the mobile equivalent of the Alt-Tab shortcut on Windows computers.
You need to enable gesture navigation for this to work, but if you’re using 3-button navigationdon’t worry – there is an alternative.
You can quickly switch between the two most recently opened apps by double-tapping the Recent apps button at the bottom of the screen. If you click quickly, you can scroll through recent apps, although not completely as intuitive as scrolling with gesture navigation.
Of course, you still need to open the app drawer for apps you don’t use often, but for anything you’ve opened recently, this shortcut is easily the fastest way to switch.
Drag and drop lets me move content between apps in seconds
Share text and images without using screenshots or copying and pasting
One of the most common daily actions I do on my phone is take a screenshot or copy and paste text or an image from an app and then send it to someone as a chat message.
Android 14 introduced a feature that greatly improves this, but I rarely see people using it in the wild: you can drag and drop content between apps.
Simply select a text, image or link, then press and hold for a second and drag to the bottom of the screen to share it in the app of your choice. Better yet, hold the item with one hand and use the other hand to swipe across the bottom of the screen to get to the app you want to drop it on, then release.
You can even drag and drop in multi-window mode. Once you realize that you can drag and drop almost anything anywhere, just like with a computer mouse, it’s incredibly intuitive.
Some programs even take it a step further. For example, my OnePlus 15’s gallery app automatically isolates a specific element in an image I capture, allowing me to send cropped images in seconds. It’s like magic!
Note that support varies greatly depending on the application. I haven’t been able to get this feature to work in some apps like Messenger, where instead of tapping and holding on text, a menu of reactions pops up.
Pinning apps prevents people from messing around with my phone
Lock the device to an app before handing it over
Pinning apps lets you lock your screen to an app while blocking access to the rest of the phone. This is perfect when you need to give your phone to someone and you don’t want them snooping around. If you give your phone to the kids so they can watch YouTube or play games, this is a feature you never knew you needed.
Before you can use the app pin, you need to enable it. go away Parameters > Security and privacy > More security and privacy > Fixing the application.
The words on your device may be slightly different, so it’s often easier to use the search bar instead. Also, some phones won’t allow you to use the app pin with gesture navigation, so you may need to switch to 3-button navigation before you can enable it.
Once app pinning is enabled, open the app you want to pin, open the recent apps screen, tap the three-dot icon next to the app, and tap Pin. You will usually be required to unlock your phone to unblock the app.
Pinned shortcuts take me exactly where I need to go without opening apps
Sticking with the theme of pinning things, did you know that you can pin different actions in specific apps to your home screen? This is an incredibly convenient feature, especially if you visit the same section of the program every time. For example, you can attach shortcuts to your Amazon orders or cart instead of just the main Amazon app shortcut.
Fastening the shortcut very true. Simply press and hold the app you want to create a shortcut for, and when the app shortcuts menu appears, tap and drag the specific shortcut to an empty space on your home screen. that’s it.
The best part is that there is almost no limit to the types of activities and menus you can grab. For example, I can start a running activity on my fitness tracker, open chats with important contacts, turn on ChatGPT voice mode, create a new alarm on my alarm app, open the selfie camera, search Spotify, and more. I have built shortcuts for The sky (or rather what the developer allows) is the limit!
There’s a chance your favorite Android feature you haven’t found yet
I’ve covered only a small portion of my favorite Android features here. I’ll bet there was at least one you didn’t know existed, and hopefully now that you’ve come across it, it’s something you’ll use every day. There are many other useful features waiting to be discovered on your Android phone. So find out!
