A year ago, Android 11 got a “hidden” feature straight out of the 90s: A “trash can” for deleted files. At that point, trashed files weren’t really user-manageable. Applications could mark items for deletion (they’d bite the dust 30 days later) and offer their own ways to restore them, however it wasn’t such a sort of centralized “trash can” or “recycle bin” for actually deleted files we’re utilized to from different platforms. In any case, in light of a new 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-facing. That implies designers could utilize it and build support for it into their applications — similar to Google Photos or Google Drive’s new 30-day deletion policy — yet you couldn’t simply directly manage your local files with it. At any rate, not yet.
That last part looked set to change late last year when a being development feature was spotted for the Files by Google application that would permit it to show Android 11’s “trashed” files in a convenient folder accessible from the app’s sidebar menu. That hasn’t really carried out yet, yet tandem with it, Android 12 itself might be building in support for trash file management.
This, obviously, is subject to change, however a recent teardown from the people at XDA Developers indicates that the Storage sheet in Settings may get new “trash” listing that states the space involved by these trashed files, the number of trashed files, and offers to allow you empty the trash and delete them. The controls are little less granular than the feature spotted in development for the Files by Google application, however this is likewise incorporated directly into the system itself.
It’s interested that, although the feature in Files by Google was spotted a year ago, and it should just rely upon Android 11 to work, Google actually hasn’t carried it out yet. In light of this latest development, Google may hold its appearance there until Android 12 is finished — however there’s nothing truly preventing Files by Google from getting it first. In any case, Android 12 is ready to catch up with the bleeding-edge file-deletion technologies of Windows 95.