New feature coming to Android smartphones

Jan 23, 2017 10:35 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is really keen on improving its Android apps, and as part of the latest OneDrive beta version, the company is experimenting with a new feature that can automatically remove content already uploaded to cloud.

Currently exclusively available in OneDrive beta version 4.9, the new feature is called “Clean Up Space,” and is very similar to what Google Photos is also offering on Android at this point.

Specifically, Clean Up Space is implemented in OneDrive to automatically remove content that has already been uploaded to cloud whenever the smartphone runs low on storage. Microsoft explains:

“When you upload 1GB worth of photos to OneDrive, we'll automatically offer to remove the local copies of the photos on your device to free up some space on your phone for things like Apps and Music. Your photos will be safe and sound in the cloud where you'll always be able to access them through OneDrive!”

How it works

The Android version of OneDrive can thus monitor phone storage and can automatically trigger the auto cleaning feature whenever it detects that the device is running low on storage.

Users are given a couple of options to remove the content that’s already in the cloud or to leave local content untouched, with a dedicated setting that prevents the same dialog from appearing in the future again.

It goes without saying that, given the fact that Clean Up Space is still in beta version, some options might not work as expected, but Microsoft is obviously trying to refine the experience and get everything ready before it makes it to the stable version of OneDrive.

If you can’t wait for Microsoft to bring this feature in the production build of OneDrive, you can download the beta APK right now to find out how it works. Obviously, only advanced users are supposed to install beta versions of apps, and Microsoft expects users to submit feedback in order to improve features before the public launch.