What you need to know
- Google issues a surprise update to Google Play Music.
- The update allows users to hide the app from their app drawer and delete all data.
- Users had until last month to transfer their tunes over to YouTube Music.
If you haven't heard, Google Play Music is dead. Google has been encouraging users to switch to YouTube Music, which is admittedly one of the best music players on Android. Today, Google issued a surprising update (via 9to5Google) to its Play Music app after it was recently killed off. Although, instead of gaining any new features, the update allows you to hide Play Music and all of the data associated with it, which comes in handy for anyone unable to delete the app.
The update allows you to finally get rid of the app if it came preinstalled on your device. That includes devices like the Google Pixel 3 or the LG G8 (too soon?), which only come with the option to disable the app but that still leaves it in your app drawer. When opening the app, you are presented with the option to hide it from your app drawer, so it's more or less out of sight and out of mind.
Source: 9to5Google
Play Music also presents you with the option to delete all of your app data. Google gave Play Music users until February 24th to transfer their music over to YouTube Music before it purged all of their data from the app. This option to delete app data seems to be a precaution just in case some data slipped through the cracks, such as local downloads, which means it's also a way to free up some valuable storage.
The update to version 8.29.9112-1.W should start rolling out on the Play Store (opens in new tab) to devices that came with Google Play Music preinstalled, although anyone else would just be free to delete the app.
