5 underrated Android features I use all the time, and you should too

Features like split-screen mode, Quick Share, and various battery optimizations are more or less common knowledge amongst Android users. But Google’s OS has so many features, it’s easy for some to fly under the radar — especially since they can be buried deep within the settings.

A lot of the features I use regularly aren’t talked about as much as they should be, partly due to the fact not everyone is aware that they even exist. I want to change that by sharing five underrated Android features I think deserve more attention.

I’ve added instructions on how to use them and where to find them, but keep in mind that some may not be available on all devices, while others may be located in a different folder due to the differences in Android versions and skins.

We’ve all been there: You want to show someone an album with your vacation photos, an interesting app you just discovered, or have them try the latest game you downloaded, but you’re worried that they will start going through your phone.

The idea of a friend or a family member going through my messages and search history makes me feel uncomfortable, to say the least, which is why I use App pinning in cases like these.

App pinning basically “pins” the app to the screen, meaning the person holding the phone can’t close it or open a new one. If they tried, they would have to unlock the phone with a fingerprint or a PIN, which is something only I can do since it’s my phone. Problem solved.

To enable App Pinning, head to Settings > Security & Privacy > More security & Privacy > App pinning. To pin an app, bring up the multitask screen, tap on the icon of the app you want to pin at the top of its preview, and then select the Pin option.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked by people visiting me at home is, “What’s your Wi-Fi password?” It’s a bit sad if you think about it, since I believe I’m more interesting than anything that happens on one’s screen, but that’s just the reality I have to deal with, unfortunately.

The problem here is that my Wi-Fi password is long and complicated, as it should be for security reasons. I don’t know it by heart, and typing it in can be time-consuming anyway, so I just share it via a QR code.

I just head to Settings > Network & internet > Internet and then tap on my Wi-Fi network. After that, I select the Share option, which brings up a QR code my guest can scan to instantly connect to my Wi-Fi network. So simple, yet so efficient. It’s how technology should be.

I get a lot of notifications on a daily basis. And what happens is that sooner or later, I swipe some of them out of view, not knowing whether I received an important message or if a random app sent me a notification I couldn’t care less about. So, how to solve this conundrum?

This is where Notification history comes in. The name says it all — it basically shows me a history of all my notifications. So, if I swipe one or five out of view by mistake, I can still check them thanks to this feature.

To access Notification history, pull down the notification panel and tap on the “No notifications” text (or sometimes the small History button). If you don’t see your history, you’ll first have to enable it with the toggle that shows up at the top.

The days when I needed to plug in my all-in-one printer, wait for it to boot up, and then scan a document I needed to send someone are long gone. Not only was that process time-consuming on its own, but if you’ve ever worked with printers/scanners, you know there are tons of issues all the time that extend the process — at least that’s been my experience.

Now, whenever I need to scan a document, I place it on a table, open my camera app, and wait for the “Scan document” option to show up. The tool then automatically detects the edges of the document, takes a picture, and converts it to a PDF that’s then uploaded to my Google Drive.

However, this is a feature that may not be available on all phones. I have a Pixel, which is obviously well integrated with Google Drive. Samsung phones also have this feature, but they usually upload the document to Samsung Notes. You’ll find the feature on many other popular brands like OnePlus and Xiaomi, but not on all of them. Give it a try and let me know if you have it in the comments.

Everyone knows how to select text on an Android phone. You just press and hold on it and then drag your finger to the part you want to select. It’s easy. But while most people just use this to copy text, Android’s smart text selection can do much more than that.

For example, when I see a phone number on the website, I select the number, and the option to call it shows up right away. So there’s no need to open the Phone app and type it in manually. The same goes for addresses: I just select the address, and an option to view it in Google Maps shows up instantly.

Then there are dates: selecting a date brings up an option to create an event in Google Calendar, which saves me a ton of time. It’s a brilliant feature, one not many people know about.

There you have it — my five most-used underrated Android features. However, there are plenty of others on offer in Android. I really want to hear which ones you use, so share them with me in the comments.