Android TV, now Google TV, is the operating system used in branded devices ranging from Philips and Sony to variants used in Xiaomi or Amazon models, to name a few examples. And like in cellphones, televisions and dongles, we have limited space to store content in the form of apps. So let’s see how we can save space by deleting apps we no longer use.
And there are many devices, even high-end models, which offer a very fair space to install applications And accessories. We’ve seen it with the Chromecast with Google TV to name just one example, but it’s something too common. However, it is very easy to gain valuable megabytes of capacity just by following these steps.
Save storage space for apps on Android TV
We can find in some models applications that we have installed and no longer use or even with preinstalled apps we don’t care about, the ones we know as bloatware. The window is that on Android TV or Google TV it is very easy to manage them. It is a question of removing them or at least deactivating them so that they disturb as little as possible.
We are talking, and we must warn it, of uninstall applications that are not part of the necessary system. The applications that we have installed and are therefore consumable.
To start the process, we need to access the “Settings” TV or “Setting”. Depending on the brand, the process may vary but they are generally very similar. For the example, I used a Sony TV with Android TV and the Chromecast with Google TV.
Once in the “Settings” we need to look for a section called “Applications”
When accessing applications we will see a list with all those installed, both those that we have downloaded over time and those of the system, which usually appear hidden in the absence of us by clicking on the button that shows them. Something the system does for security.
In the examples I put, only the apps that I recently opened are opened first and after them a full list of installed apps. In this way it is easier to find the most used in particular to correct any faults.
Once the application we want to remove located, we just have to press the OK button on the remote control to display its information and a menu will appear alongside with different options, one of which will be “Uninstall”.
Having said that, in some apps, we may not see the “Uninstall” option, which means we cannot remove it. This usually happens in preloaded apps and in this case instead of “Uninstall” we see the option “Disable”. If we use this option, the system removes the data from the application and hides it in the TV menus, although it continues to be displayed on the TV.
These two methods save space, in particular examine installed apps and remove ones we don’t use and those we may not even remember that we installed. But these are not the only possibilities, because we can also use three other options.
First of all, it is about using the sections “Delete data” and “Empty the cache” that appear in each application. If we erase this data, we can reach a few megabytes which can be invaluable at the cost, of course, of ending all traces of our activity in the app.
And we may even see a section in some models titled “Remove content from demo” which allows you to remove content that each TV has planned to show images when it’s in store or on display.
Save space on Google TV
In the case of using a device with Google TV (for testing I used a Chromecast) the steps are very similar, although with a few nuances. And it is first of all that we must access by entering the “Settings” by pressing the cogwheel at the top right.
Once inside the process is more similar and we have to look for the section “Applications” and on the right of the screen different panels open according to our choice. In this case we will see a list with “All applications”.
Here it is enter the application we want to manage to see its details. We will see options to open it, force stop, check the space used or the one that interests us, “Uninstall”.
With the possibility of uninstalling the application, we can also, like in Android TV, save space with just “Delete data” O “Empty the cache”. The first generates more free space, but at the cost of quitting the application as if it had never been used.
With these steps we can uninstall apps we don’t use on the connected TV or dongle, at the same time as we gain storage space it can still be valuable.
