Did you know that there are many Android hidden secrets or features that are rarely known? You may know some of them, but new ones can be very useful to you.
The Android operating system is already more than 10 years old. And although old functions are lost, others are accumulating, and in many cases they are hidden in hidden corners and little traveled.
When we have been using a mobile for a long time, we tend to automate the routine functions that we use the most, and we forget about the rest. In fact, most people only take advantage of 20 or 30% of the potential of their mobile.
Let’s take a look at some unknown Android features, which can be really useful.
If you are an expert user, you probably know most of them. But maybe some will surprise you.
If you only use what you need, many of them will be very useful, because they are very useful and easy to put into practice. Following are some of Android hidden secrets that might be interested to you.
Add subtitles to videos
If you have a Pixel, Samsung or OnePlus mobile bought in the last year, it is quite likely that it includes the Live Caption function.
This feature allows you to add subtitles to any video you are watching, even if it doesn’t have them. The one you have recorded, the one from a platform, one from WhatsApp… the same thing, this function listens to the audio of the video before showing it and transcribes it to text.
Very useful if you do not understand what they are saying, or you want to watch the video at night, without headphones.
To find it, go into Settings and see if Live Caption appears , then you just have to activate it and it works automatically.
Read WhatsApp messages without leaving the blue mark
When we read a WhatsApp message, the person who sent it sees a blue mark on the right, indicating that we have read it. This is a problem if we do not want to respond immediately, or do not want it to be known that we have read it.
There is a trick to read messages without sending the blue read mark. It consists of using the WhatsApp widget.
Leave your finger on a blank space on the screen, so that the Widgets icon appears. Touch it and you will see all the available widgets of all the apps you have installed.
Select the WhatsApp messages, and place it on the Home screen, or in another secondary one. Here you can calmly read unread messages, without the blue mark appearing.
Some reading glasses, on camera
The presbyopia appears after age 40 and affects most people, difficult reading texts when they are near the eyes.
There are times when you have to read a product label or a tiny instruction manual, but your glasses are not nearby.
There are mobiles that have a zoom effect on the camera that allows you to read fine print, but the zoom on cheap mobiles blurs the image, and it doesn’t work.
One trick is to use the phone’s magnifying glass inside the camera. We go to Settings, Accessibility, and look for the Magnifying Glass. In some mobiles it is called Expand. We select the option Expand with button.
We will see a new icon in the shape of a person in the lower right corner of the screen (see top photo). When we want to read a small text, we open the camera of the mobile and point to the text. We touch on the icon, then on the screen, and a Magnifying glass effect will be produced that will allow us to read it.
The Magnifier is used to magnify anything within the apps, not just the camera.
Delay notifications
Sometimes you receive a notification, but you are busy and cannot attend to it. But you don’t want to lose it either.
If you slide the notification to the side, or leave your finger for a couple of seconds, a clock icon will appear, or the Snooze command. Touch to delay the notification 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 2 hours. After that time, it will appear again.
Multi-window apps
For some years now, Android has allowed you to use several apps at the same time, in multiscreen mode. We can leave a fixed app in the middle of the screen, and open others in the rest.
If you point at the bottom of the screen to the square that shows the applications you have open, you will see that at the top, above the applications, the Multi-window option appears. When you click, it points to you. Hold down the application and drag it here.
This will be very useful to work, copy text or keep an eye on one application while working with another.
Where have I parked?
There are apps like Waze, which automatically record where you leave the car.
If you don’t use it, you can turn to the Google Assistant instead. Open the wizard and say: ” I have parked here.” Google will remember. If you get lost, you just have to ask: ” Where have I parked? ” And it will guide you back to your car through Google Maps.
QR code without app
There are thousands of apps that allow you to read QR codes. But many of them have a suspicious origin (they want to spy with our camera), or show advertising.
Many modern mobiles already integrate QR code reading into the camera app. If yours does not have it, you can use Google Lens, the Google app that recognizes text within images and has an integrated QR reader.
Search for Google Lens on your mobile or install it from Google Play, and with it you can read QR codes.
It is more reliable than the hundreds of apps of this type, of unknown origin.
Smart lock
Android includes a Smart Lock feature that a lot of people don’t know about, or don’t know what it’s for.
It is used to keep the mobile unlocked , that is, you do not have to enter the password or scan your fingerprint or your face to use it.
It is useful if you are at home and you know that nobody is going to gossip your mobile, or you are cooking and you do not want to stain the fingerprint reader or the screen. Also for a work mobile that the whole office uses.
To activate the Smart Lock enter Settings, Security, and Device Security. You will see the Smart Lock option. It will offer you different automatic unlocking options: while you are wearing it, in a location you specify, or when it is near another device.
Share WiFi with a QR code
In Android 11, it is possible to share the WiFi password with a QR code, so you don’t have to look for it, or type numbers. You scan the QR code with another device’s camera, and it automatically connects to WiFi.
It is useful, for example, if you have a visitor and they ask you to use your WiFi connection. Or to quickly configure devices.
It is easy to use. Swipe the top of the screen to access the quick settings, and tap on the WiFi connection to access the list of detected WiFi signals.
Leave your finger for a couple of seconds on the WiFi connection you want to share, and the Share option will appear, displaying the QR code.
Secret codes
Did you know that Android has secret codes that activate hidden functions , or show information that does not appear anywhere else?
Depending on the version of Android you have, more or less codes will work, but they are worth trying.
You just have to open the Phone app, and dial these codes on the keyboard as if you were going to call a mobile number. Do it without fear, since the call does not cost money.
- * # * # 273282 * 255 * 663282 * # * # * Backs up personal files
- * # * # 4636 # * # * Shows mobile information, usage and battery statistics
- * # 06 # Show the IMEI code of the mobile, which you need if you lose it
- * # * # 7780 # * # * Activates factory settings, but does not erase data
- * # * # 34971539 # * # * Camera information
- * # * # 232339 # * # * Does a speed test of the WiFi connection
- * # * # 2664 # * # * Touch screen test
- * # * # 0289 # * # * Audio test
You have a few more on this card:
App shortcuts
This trick is so simple and obvious, that it is very common that we forget that it exists.
If you hold your finger down for a second or two on an app icon, quick functions will appear.
For example, with WhatsApp the chats of your last contacts appear, in Google Maps the access to the location of your home or work, etc. Try it with your favorite apps, because it will save you time.
Block apps
Sometimes a friend asks you to use an app on your mobile because he does not have his handy, or to play a game, or consult something on the Internet, but you do not want him to snoop on your mobile or access personal information.
Or you want to leave a game for your son.
There are options such as Guest Mode, but you can also use the Screen Pin option. What it does is set the app of your choice on the screen, and no one will be able to open another until a combination of icons is pressed and the mobile is unlocked.
To activate it, go to Settings , Security and search for Screen pinning or similar. Activate it, and also check the option Request PIN to deactivate.
Open the app you want to borrow , press the Square button at the bottom of the mobile to access the apps in use, and you will see that in the corner of the apps there is a pin. Touch it, and the app will be fixed on the screen. No other can be used.
To unlock it, you usually have to touch the triangle and square icons at the same time, and enter the PIN or fingerprint.
Share with someone close
For a few versions of Android, it is possible to send photos, videos, and other content to a nearby mobile without having to use passwords, QR codes and other stories. It’s called the Nearby function.
Select what you want to send to another device, tap on Share in the menu of the app you’re using, and look for the Share with Nearby icon . Tapping it will send it to the nearby mobile you select.
For this, the other mobile must have the Nearby function activated. Depending on the types of connection that both devices have, it will be shared by NFC, Bluetooth or WiFi.
We have seen 13 unknown functions for your Android mobile that are very useful that you are probably not using.