After months of testing, Google released Android 15 on October 15, 2024. This update doesn’t bring many cosmetic changes, but it does bring significant upgrades, including a private space to hide your personal apps and improved multitasking capabilities. To get the most out of your Android 15 experience, you’ll need to change a few settings right away. The important adjustments you should make after getting the update are:
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7 Turn on anti-theft function
Keep your device safe with Android’s new built-in safety features
It’s never a good situation to have your smartphone stolen. Google introduced new anti-theft features in Android 15 to protect your data. These features lock your device and prevent unauthorized access if it is stolen.
The first feature, Theft Detection Lock, uses on-device sensors and AI to detect sudden movements, such as someone snatching your phone, and automatically lock the screen. The second feature, Offline Device Lock, is triggered when a thief attempts to take your phone offline, turn it off, disable location tracking, or erase your data.
The third and most useful feature is the remote lock. This remotely locks your phone by going to android.com/lock and entering your phone number. This feature ensures that the phone can only be unlocked with the original password, giving you more time to keep track of your password.
These features aren’t limited to Android 15. Can be enabled on most Android devices. Still, it appears that Android 15 devices are receiving the update first. Here’s how to set it up:
- Open. setting App.
- Search for “anti-theft” in the search bar or go to: Google services > all services.
- choice Anti-theft.
- Turn on the toggle theft detection lock, offline device lockand remote lock Enable protection features.
6 Protect your device’s MAC address on public Wi-Fi
Stay completely private while using public networks
If you frequently connect to public Wi-Fi networks in cafes, airports, or shopping malls, there are important Android 15 settings you should change right away. This feature enables MAC address randomization and generates a new MAC address for your device every time you connect to a different Wi-Fi network.
This setting is very important to protect your privacy. Keep your activity anonymous on public networks and prevent user profiling. You can also stop sharing your device name on your network.
- open setting.
- choice network and internet and tap internet.
- Tap the gear icon next to your connected network.
- choice privacy.
- choose Use randomized MAC and turn off the power Send device name Enhance your privacy.
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5 Stop Bluetooth from automatically re-enabling
Prevent Bluetooth from turning back on after being disabled
One of the features of Android 15 is that Bluetooth will automatically turn back on the next day after you turn it off. This may be useful for some people, but if you want full control over when Bluetooth is active, there are settings you’ll need to change. To prevent Bluetooth from turning on automatically the next day, follow these steps:
- open setting.
- tap connected device.
- choice Connection settings.
- tap bluetooth.
- turn off It will turn on automatically tomorrow toggle.
4 Enable private space
Store your personal apps and data in a secure private zone
One of the great features of Android 15 is Private Space. This allows you to safely store your personal data and apps in a hidden environment that only you can access. This feature ensures that apps placed in your private space are hidden from your device’s launcher, notifications, and app list. However, private spaces are not activated by default. Must be turned on through device settings. Here’s how to set it up:
- open setting.
- move to Security and privacy.
- choice private space.
- tap setting.
- You will be asked to create a new Google Account. You can skip this step if you don’t need it.
- choice Choose a new lock.
- Create a private space lock that is separate from your device’s main screen lock for added security.
Apps installed on your device cannot be transferred to your private space. Instead, you have to download it from the Google Play Store while in your private space.
3 Display long app names properly
Fix how app names are displayed in the launcher
Android devices with small screens, such as the Google Pixel 8a, often clip app names in the launcher. This makes it difficult to identify apps unless you memorize their icons or use the search bar. Android 15 addresses this issue by allowing you to display the full app name in the launcher. Here’s how to enable it
- Touch and hold an empty area of your home screen.
- choice Home settings From options.
- Scroll down and App list settings.
- toggle on Show long app names.
2 Improve color contrast
Google’s Material You is a great feature that customizes the theme of your device based on the colors of your wallpaper. However, this can make on-screen text and elements difficult to read. Android 15 allows you to adjust color contrast to improve readability.
Choose from three contrast levels: Default, Medium, and High. Selecting Medium or High increases the contrast of UI elements to improve visibility. This option was available in Android 14, but in Android 15 it’s front and center. Here’s how to adjust:
- open setting.
- go to display & touch.
- choice color contrast.
- Choose the contrast level that works best for you.
1 Switch default wallet app
Change your default wallet app to make payments more convenient
You may not prefer Google Wallet for contactless payments and rely on your bank’s app due to limited support or increased security. Previously, when making NFC payments, you had to open the app from the launcher, which could be inconvenient. With Android 15, Google is making it easier to change your default wallet, accessible through Quick Settings with just a tap. Here’s how to set it up:
- go to setting.
- choice app.
- tap default app.
- choose wallet app Select your preferred app as default.
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Android 15 may not feel like a huge upgrade. Some much-awaited features are coming with QPR 1, such as an 80% charging limit, but there are still plenty of settings you can change to improve your experience. To get the most out of this latest update, check out the new security features introduced in Android 15.