Last year, Android 11 picked up a “hidden” feature straight from the 90s: a “recycle bin” for deleted files. At the time, deleted files were not really user-manageable. Apps could mark items for deletion (they bite the dust 30 days later) and offer their own ways to recover them, but it wasn’t the kind of centralized ‘trash’ or ‘trash’ for actually deleted files we’re used to from other platforms. But, based on a recent report, that could change in Android 12.
For a bit of context, that change was part of Android’s ongoing “Scoped Storage” tweaks, and it wasn’t directly user-centric. That means developers can use it and build support for it into their apps – kind of like Google Photos or Google Drive’s new 30-day deletion policy – but you couldn’t just manage your local files with it. At least not yet.
That last part seemed to change late last year when an in-development feature was discovered for the Files by Google app that would allow it to display Android 11’s “trashed” files in a convenient folder accessible from the sidebar menu of the app. That has not really been rolled out yet, but in combination with Android 12 self can build to support waste management.
Images of the new System -> Storage section “Recycle Bin”, via XDA Developers.
All of this is subject to change, of course, but a recent teardown by the folks at XDA Developers indicates that the Storage pane in Settings may be getting a new “trash” list that indicates the space taken up by these discarded files, the number of files discarded files and offers that allow you to empty and delete the trash. The controls are a little less detailed than the feature under development for the Files by Google app, but it’s also built right into the system itself.
It’s curious that while the feature in Files by Google was spotted last year and should only depend on Android 11 to work, Google still hasn’t rolled it out. Based on this latest development, Google can keep its look there until Android 12 is complete, although nothing really prevents Files by Google from getting it first. Regardless, Android 12 is ready to catch up with Windows 95’s cutting-edge file deletion technologies.
