Five Great Google Play Store Features You May Not Use
The Google Play Store is a convenient way to get new apps for your phone, but there are some great features you might not have noticed if you hadn’t been exploring this service. Here are some of the best things the Play Store has to offer beyond the basics.
Get cutting-edge apps with beta communities
We’ve briefly touched on the idea of beta apps in the Google Play Store before, but this is perhaps the best hidden feature of the Play Store. Sometimes an app developer can deploy a beta version of their app where they experiment with new features. You won’t find them in the Play Store, but sometimes you can find news about them on enthusiast sites like Android Police . To participate in a beta program, there are usually several steps to follow. We’ll use Instagram as an example:
- Join Google Group or Google+ Community: Depending on how the developer set this up, you’ll need to join Google Group or Google+ Community to access the beta. For example, here’s a beta version of the Google Group on Instagram .
- Sign up for the beta program: there will be a separate link for registration in the beta program of the application . Usually this will not be available if you have not registered with the group itself. The link to the beta version of Instagram is here .
- Install the beta app. After you sign up for the beta program, you will be prompted to install the preview version of the app. The beta registration program should direct you to download the app as soon as you sign up.
Not all apps have beta programs, but those that offer a convenient way to try out new programs or features before anyone else. You can exit the beta at any time, so if you don’t like the version you are using, you can always revert to the old one (if the regular version is available).
Follow the movies, books or apps you want with your wishlist
The Play Store isn’t just for apps. You can also buy movies, music, books and apps from the store. Even if you don’t want to buy digital copies, the Store has a handy wishlist feature on every page. If you’ve stumbled upon something that interests you, or want to save it for later, tap the wishlist icon (which looks more like a bookmark). You can later find everything you’ve saved by opening the left navigation bar in the Play Store and choosing Wishlist. You can also find it online here .
Find more reliable apps in the People section
Google+ got a bad rap when Google started requiring accounts to use important features like giving reviews on the Play Store, but there are some benefits to the scheme as well. From the Play Store’s slide-out navigation bar, you can select People and get app or content recommendations based on what your contacts have used or +1. If you accidentally browse the Play Store, this might be the best way to find new apps, as it is solely limited to what someone you know approved of, not random junk that played well on the system.
Keep kids away from explicit content with parental controls
If you have a family tablet or ever let your kids use your phone, you can make sure they can’t stumble upon more explicit content in the Play Store. Open Play Store settings and turn on parental controls. You can then filter movies, TV shows, apps, and games based on their different rating schemes. You can also filter out books and music marked as “explicit.”
Customize automatic updates according to your needs
You may already know that the Play Store can automatically update some apps, but the settings for how you do this are easily customizable. In Store settings, you can choose whether to update your apps automatically over Wi-Fi, over your phone’s data connection, or not update at all. You can also turn off update notifications so that your apps can update automatically in the background.
Of course, if this is too much for you, you can also exclude certain applications. On the list page for each application, you can click the menu button and deselect Auto Update. Even if you have automatic updates enabled, these apps will not be enabled until you approve. In addition, even if you have automatic updates enabled, Play Store will never update an app that asks for new permissions unless you specifically approve it.