Read More: The Best Micro SD Card Brands for Android

Photo Storage Apps
Photo libraries can grow quickly during vacations, filling up a phone’s storage capacity. In cases where a device’s memory fills up before vacation ends, users may find themselves caught between the option of deleting old photos or not snapping new ones. Luckily, downloading a trustworthy photo storage app before going on vacation is an easy way to solve this storage problem.

Flickr is one such app that’s been a trusted photo storage platform for more than 10 years. The service offers 1 TB of free storage, automatic uploads from the camera roll, and free sorting and Smart Search options. Dropbox is another trusted storage provider. Although the app’s free storage constraints are much more limited at only 2 GB, this number can be expanded by following the company’s social media pages, referring friends to the service, and leaving feedback. Users willing to pay a monthly fee will have access to a storage amount of 1 TB and will even be able to access photos offline.

Group Sharing Photo Apps
A staple of summer vacations is the group photo shot. However, sharing these photos can be a tedious process, and photo storage apps often limit user access. Instead, downloading a private photo sharing app such as Cluster can simplify the sharing process. The service imposes no limit on group sizes, offers many privacy control features, and allows uploading and viewing from both mobile and laptops.

Don’t just watch your data usage — control it!
Most phones have a default setting that sends a warning when you are about to exceed your data limit. By then there often isn’t enough time to do anything before you get slapped with penalties. This is especially true if you’re on a multi-user data plan. Simply look for the Data Usage menu somewhere near the top of your system settings list (if it isn’t there, look for it under the More caption). You can change the setting to warn you earlier. Or, if there is a member of your data plan who hogs all the data, you can change the setting on that phone to turn off at a data point of your own choosing.

Read More: The Latest Innovation for Your Android is Here

Change the setting for your lock timeout.
There are many reasons you might want to change the amount of time it takes before you have to re-enter your password. Perhaps you live with someone nosey, and you want to have the lockout kick in immediately. Or maybe you’re tired of having to enter your code every two seconds. Either way, it’s time to switch to the time frame that works for you. To make the change, look in the Security menu for the option you want.

Improve Your Use of Google Now
Google Now gets all kinds of kudos as one of Android’s best innovations. If you have Marshmallow, you can make it even more useful. Try Google Now on Tap, which you can access with a long press on the Home button from any screen or in the midst of any app. You need a few extra steps to activate it for the first time, but once you’re set-up, Google Now will be there ready to provide the info you need with, well, a simple touch of a button.

While you’re making sure your Android phone is the best it can be, you should also make certain that you are using PSafe’s products to keep your device safe, secure, and running smoothly.

A Word on Google Now
In case you’re new to Google Now, it’s Google’s version of the digital personal assistant. Similarly to Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri, it can be activated via voice commands and used to do things such as call someone in your contacts list or give you directions. You can also dictate text messages, perform Internet searches, or set a reminder to pull your casserole out of the oven. Google Now isn’t exactly the same as its competitors, though. The intuitive app “learns” your habits and preferences and offers functionality based on that information. You can even create “cards” with customized updates from your favorite sites and subjects.

Read More: PSafe Identifies More Than 500 Apps Infected by Virus on Google Play Store

About that Sub-Widget
The new transparent sub-widget will be located right below the search widget. Since it’s in beta testing mode, it’s not automatically available on all Android devices. If you want to check it out before the full release, you have to be a member of Google Beta. To do so, visit the Google Play store and find the Google app. Look for the option to join the beta channel. Once you do, you’ll receive any updates Google is testing or launching so you can get in on new releases like the Now sub-widget. Once enabled, the sub-widget makes it so you don’t have to swipe to the Now pane to access your Google Now features. Essentially an extension of Now, the sub-widget gives you instant access to relevant Now information like expected commute time or real-time sports updates. Google will continue to tweak the sub-widget and add more functionality before its official release.

Downloading apps, even from the official Google Play store, isn’t always safe. Protect your device from malware with PSafe Total.

Messages and Phone
No one wants to miss an important call from their mother or a text from their best friend, especially if there is an urgent situation that demands an immediate response. Whether or not you receive many calls and text throughout your day, calls and texts to your number are usually from people that you actually care about in your life. It pays to have extra notifications turned on in the event that you miss an important voicemail from your doctor or a conversation with your spouse.

Read More: Here’s How to Unlock Your Android from SMS

Email
Like with calls and texts, emails can be important and may require an immediate response.

Unlike your calls and texts, however, your email is more susceptible to receiving spam messages that may cause undue distractions and alarm when reaching for your vibrating phone. To prevent this, simply enable notifications only for your primary personal and primary professional email accounts. If you have multiple email accounts for professional use, personal use, or both, enable notifications only for those that you most frequently utilize.

​Calendar
Most of us live busy lives that require us to perform many various tasks throughout the course of the week, which means there have probably been moments in your life where you’ve forgotten to buy groceries, fold the laundry, or schedule that dentist appointment. If you rely on your phone’s built-in calendar to keep abreast of meetings, deadlines, errands, and date nights, it pays to have alerts set up to remind you just in case. Plus, it’s a great habit to develop to keep yourself organized and on top of your daily obligations.

Breaking News and Commuting Apps
If something big happens in the world, chances are you’ll find out about it through a plethora of channels — texts from family, Twitter feeds, TVs in the airport set to CNN. That said, if you’d like to keep on top of national and global events without spamming your home screen with Tweets, try allowing some notification permissions from news sources like Reuters or CNN Breaking News.

Additionally, if you rely on public transit to get to and from work, you are probably aware that accidents can and do happen that throw a wrench into your regular commuting plans. For instance, if you commute into New York to work, having both an MTA and NJ Transit/LIRR app can do wonders to keep you from waiting at terminals and subway stops.

Google Now is voice-activated. Although Google Now provides user-initiated queries (you ask, Google Now answers), the free service that’s a part of an Android phone goes far beyond that. In fact, you may receive timely information that Google Now believes you may want to know, all based on your search habits.

Read More: The Need-to-Know Voice Commands for Google Now

Google Now was first included in Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) back in July of 2012. If you are just now taking Android for a test spin, there’s no better time than now to get familiar with Google Now. It could easily replace your paper schedules, reminders, and let you know if you will need an umbrella during the morning commute.

How to Use Google’s Voice Assistant
To use Google Now, you must first activate “OK, Google.”

1. Open the Google app.
2. At the top left, click the menu icon, then “Settings,” and then “Voice.” Finally, click “OK Google.”
3. Choose when you want your phone to pay attention to you saying, “OK Google.”

Press and hold the home key button and swipe up (or click the Google icon that appears). The prompt will ask if you would like to see more information and use Google Now. After you click “Getting started,” you will cycle through a few different cards to customize your Google Now experience.

You can choose to see your commute time, and even where you parked your car, without a lot of extra searching around. After you have reviewed a card, swipe it to the right to move on the next.

Google Now Apps and Touchless Controls
More than the card system, you can ask questions about something you want to know, to learn the location of a store, or even to call a contact for you. It also works with a host of apps, including Trulia, WhatsApp, and Wink.

You will have to active the Touchless Controls settings for these functions. All you need to do is say “Okay Google Now” three times, so Google can get a good idea of the sound of your voice — and be ready and waiting when you need it the most.

The next time you need directions home, or want to know the hours of your favorite shop, Google Now makes it easy. Just make sure that your Android battery will be charged and ready when you are by installing PowerPRO by PSafe. Receive timely tips to help it last.

In honor of Senior Citizen’s Day, which was August 21st, here’s a slew of fantastic Android features to take advantage of right now. Learn how to use them to make the most of your Android cell phone, and surprise the grandkids with your tech savvy.

Switching Screens

To get from one screen to another, turn to those buttons at the bottom of your phone’s screen. The home button returns you to your home screen. The back button will send you back to the app you were last using or to the screen you were at. Finally, the rectangular button is for multitasking. You can see what apps and screens you currently have open — and then click the “x” button on them or swipe them away. For some Android phones, the multitasking button is gone, but the function remains — just double-tap or long-press the home button.

Home Screen Notifications

Pull down at the very top of your screen to access your notifications. At a glance, you can view your newest email, see who has texted you — and respond instantly from within the same screen — and find out any other important information, like if your apps have been updated, and if your system has a update.

Search Functions

If you want to start a search, click the Google search box at the top of your home screen. From there, you can tap the microphone symbol to issue a voice command, you can use your keyboard to type in what you need to know, or you can say “Ok Google” along with the terms you want to hunt for.

Now that you know more about your Android phone, it’s time to keep it protected from vicious viruses and sneaky malware. Install PSafe TOTAL for antivirus protection and surf the web without worrying about your phone’s security.