What Is Private Space on Android 15 and How to Use It
Oct. 17, 2024Google is finally rolling out theAndroid 15 update, and it includes one of the greatest features ever added to stock Android. A major complaint people have about Android or rather Pixel UI is the lack of app cloning, locking, or hiding features, and Private Space addresses that. Here’s everything you need to know about Private Space and how to use this new feature on Android 15.
What Is Private Space in Android 15?
Private Space inAndroid 15allows you tolock sensitive appsto protect them and their contents from others. This feature keeps the apps on a separate user profile so that the apps in Private Space pause when it’s locked. As a result, itdoesn’t show notifications from appsthat are in Private Space. These apps are also hidden from recent apps and settings.
Similarly, the files downloaded using Private apps arestored in that separate user profile. But the photo picker can give access to content in two separate spaces when Private Space is unlocked.
To use Private Space on your Android phone, you first need to enable it from Settings. Here are the steps to do that:
Private Space should now be ready and accessible via the App drawer on your Android phone. So, let’s learn how you can use the feature.
There are two ways to add apps to Private Space — Using the installed apps or from the Play Store app in Private Space.
Adding existing apps to Private Space can be done from the app listing in the Pixel launcher itself.
If you want to install a new app in Private Space, you can do so using the Google Play Store:
If you want to hide the Private Space, change the lock timeout, or change the PIN, you can do so quite easily. Here’s how:
The option to hide Private Space ensuresno one can see the sectionin the Pixel launcher. Here’s how to do so:
So, now, you’ve hidden the Private Space. How do you access it now? Well, once enabled, you can simply type and search for “Private Space” in the App drawer search bar to access it.
Private Space will be automatically locked as soon as your device is locked. However, you may want to change that if you want the feature to take a bit longer to lock. Fortunately, Private Space settings let you do that.
If you select the former, the Private Space will be automatically locked five minutes after screen timeout. You could also select the Only after device restarts option but we wouldn’t recommend doing that as your apps wouldn’t be as private as you think.
If you want to change the existing PIN or fingerprint, you can do so quite effortlessly. Here’s how you can do that:
Open Private Space settings > Private space lock. You can either turn on the use device screen lock option, which will set your phone lock as the default Private space lock.
Or, you can tap Private space lock > enter your current PIN > and then enter a new PIN. Moreover, you can also tap onFingerprint Unlockto register a new fingerprint for Private Space.
You can access files and folders in Private Space and share them with apps in both Private Space and Personal Space. Files by Google is one of the apps that’s preloaded in Private Space. Users can use the same to access and share files. Here’s how:
Apps in Private Space are divided into two sections — Installed and Preinstalled apps. The apps you install from the Play Store appear at the top while the preinstalled apps appear at the bottom, right after a dividing line. To remove the installed apps:
If you no longer require the Private Space, you can easily delete it. Just make sure you’ve backed up all your important files in the apps in Private Space before you proceed.
Here are a couple of the things about the Private Space feature on Android that are worth noting:
What are your thoughts about Private Space on Android? Is it exactly what you expected it to be? Which Android 15 feature are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below.
