14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is silently working on a new Windows 10 feature whose purpose is to help save storage space on the device.
More specifically, beginning with a future update, the operating system will be able to archive apps that you installed on the device but which are no longer being used.
In other words, if you install a million apps on Windows 10 (something which unfortunately too many people do these days), the operating will just determine what are the ones that you’re not using too often and then archive them automatically to save storage space.
What happens if you try to launch an app that has previously been archived?
Automatic re-download of the app
Windows 10 will just go online to download the full application, with your files and settings saved from the previous installation. So technically, it’ll take a little bit longer to load the app, but when it’s ready, everything should be just the way you left it.
“To save storage space and Internet bandwidth, apps you don’t use frequently will be archived automatically. Your files and other data will be saved. The next time you use an archived app, it’ll connect to the Internet to restore the full version (if it’s still available),” Microsoft explains.
The big question is what happens if the app is no longer available. Needless to say, this probably means that the app is pretty much lost, and this is why you should think twice before enabling this feature on Windows 10.
For now, however, this is just an experimental feature that has been enabled to a handful of users in the latest Windows 10 preview build. There’s no word as to whether Microsoft wants to bring it to production devices anytime soon, but expect more information to be shared rather sooner than later.