Automatic updates for apps on an Android device is a neat feature, as it enables you to get new features and fix bugs and security vulnerabilities in your apps, without you having to do a single thing.
However, automatic updates have some drawbacks. If your device is running low on space or battery, or you don’t want to consume all your mobile data package, automatic updates may not be the right choice. Another problem is that new updates may introduce new features and bug fixes you don’t need or even break old software that worked perfectly before the update. In this case, disable automatic updates and update specific apps or all of them manually.
You can choose to disable updates for a specific app or all the apps.
Here is how to disable automatic updates for a specific app:
- Launch Google Play
- Click on the hamburger menu (the three lines at the upper left corner of the screen)
- Click My apps & games
- In the top menu, click Installed
- Choose the app you want to update
- Click the three vertical dots at the upper right corner of the screen
- Click Enable auto update to disable it (if you haven’t done it already)
Here is how to disable automatic updates for all the apps:
- Launch Google Play
- Click on the hamburger menu (the three lines at the upper left corner of the screen)
- Click Settings
- Click Auto-update apps
- Click Don’t auto-update apps
- Click Done
Here is how to update an app manually:
- Launch Google Play
- Click on the hamburger menu (the three lines at the upper left corner of the screen)
- Click My apps & games
- Check under the Updates pending section for apps that have an update. Click on Update on the right side of the screen for the apps you want to update
- Wait for the installation to complete