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Smartphones are an essential part of everyday life. People use them from the moment they wake up until they go to bed. In some cases, it becomes an obsession or a ritual. For instance, many people cannot fall asleep without some random music or ASMR in the background. 

Since you likely use your smartphone all the time, you’ll need to make sure it’s properly maintained. Doing this is simple, and you might already know some of our top tips. It’s always good to get a reminder, though. In 2019, the number of cyberattacks against mobile devices, especially Androids, spiked. Why? One of the reasons is the increased use of mobile banking applications. So, if phones are hacked, crooks can get access to your payment data. Does it not sound tempting? Improve the security and performance of your smartphone by following these simple suggestions. 

Update Your OS

Whether you’re using iOS or Android, you need to update your OS. Professionals continually develop operating systems. By installing the latest updates, you get new features and fixes for the recently discovered vulnerabilities. So, these patches guarantee that all processes run smoothly. Some apps can’t run on outdated operating systems or simply run better on newer OSs. 

While updating your OS might not give you a new phone, it’s going to improve most of the processes that go on in the background. These under-the-hood adjustments are vital if you want to enjoy the high-speed performance and privacy enhancements. So, do not delay the update for too long. Once OS receive critical patches, research teams might be eager to share their findings on vulnerabilities. Hence, if you use an outdated version, you become one of the possible targets for those willing to exploit the flaw. 

Install a VPN

VPN tools are skyrocketing in popularity for PCs, but they’re also perfectly suitable for smartphones. Such applications are privacy-oriented, meaning that their main purpose is to protect you and your data. While you might feel like the digital space facilitates anonymity, this false feeling of security is not realistic. 

Most netizens are being tracked or monitored in one way or another. In more heavily censored countries, this surveillance is much more evident. However, regular internet visitors might not be aware that all their online activities are inspected by marketers, government agencies, and ISPs (Internet Service Providers). So, an Android VPN allows you to browse the internet anonymously and switch between locations to fit the requirements imposed by different digital services. It is also a great performance booster. If your ISP is throttling your connection, a VPN will fix this with flying colors. 

Update Your Apps

A lot of apps will not update automatically – and that’s not a good thing. Much like operating systems, frequent app updates fix issues, streamline processes, and continually improve the software. If you want to make sure that all of your apps are updating automatically, you’ll want to configure that in your settings. 

Manually updating your apps is also very simple. All you need to do is visit the App Store or Google Play, select your app, and click update. If apps still seem to fall behind the latest version, it might be because you’re a bit tight on space. You’ll have to move all of your downloads into your external memory. As long as you have room and set your apps to automatic updates, you can rest assured that things are running smoothly. 

Declutter Your Phone

One of the most tedious things you have to do regularly is decluttering your phone. New phones excel in camera quality but don’t do much to advance their internal memory. The amount of data that a single picture these days holds is astonishing, and if you take pictures frequently, you can clog up your phone in no time.

Another thing that takes quite a toll on your data is unnecessary apps. Perhaps you liked something at some point and downloaded it, but you don’t use it anymore. Multiply that by the number of apps you have, and you have a lot of resource-draining programs. Cutting down on the unnecessary clutter is essential. If you want to get rid of it, installing a cleaner tool is one of the best solutions. It will get rid of unnecessary data, cache, and other things – it will ask for your permission before it does so. Alternatively, you can remove useless data manually by selecting and deleting. Once you declutter your phone, you’ll be amazed by the performance boost you gain. 

Final Thoughts

Your phone is probably one of your most cherished possessions, as you need to use it daily. If your phone seems to be a bit slow, or its performance has taken an unexpected hit, following these four fantastic tips will return your phone to its former glory. Most things listed in this article are necessities. They’re an important part of proper maintenance, so doing them will keep your phone very happy.