Get Android’s assistant to search and send notifications from your apps
Google Now is often described as Android’s personal assistant, but it does more than search the web and notify you about events. Android devices put tons of useful information at your fingertips. Google Now has been designed to filter that mass of data for details that might be important to you at any moment and make it easily available.
It does this by indexing data stored in your apps. When you enter terms in the Google search box on your homescreen or verbally preface instructions with the words ‘OK Google,’ it returns results found in this data and on the internet. It will also display Now cards with updates that have been generated by compatible apps you have installed.
Like any good assistant, Google Now needs some training. This involves telling it which apps store important information and which ones should send cards.
1) Call up Google Now
If you haven’t already turned on Google Now, activate it by tapping the Google search bar or the icon simply labelled Google and follow the onscreen instructions. If Google Now is already working, swipe up from the home button or long press home if you’re on a Samsung device.
2) Open the menu
Once Google Now is running, tap the three horizontal lines in the top-left corner of its main screen to access the menu. This takes you to where you tell Google Now which apps to index so their names and content show up in searches and the apps that should generate cards.
3) See what Search sees
Tap Settings and then Phone Search to show a list of what Google Now can scan for the data it presents when you search for something. All apps will be catalogued, but only those storing data on your device, such as Contacts and Play Music, will have their content indexed.
4) Choose apps to index
All of the apps listed under Phone Search are indexed by default. If Google Now is trawling through apps you don’t use though, this could drain your device’s battery and might slow it down. By removing the tick mark beside a redundant app, it will tell Google Now to ignore it.
5) Grant permissions
For third-party apps to show cards in your Google Now stream, you need to give Google permission to track what you use. To do this, open the Google Settings app and tap Personal Info & Privacy. Then tap Activity Controls and check that Web & App Activity is switched to On.
6) Pick a card
Some third-party apps can generate a Now card every day while others rarely post cards. Google Now can also be set to post cards based on your location. To set card permissions for third-party apps, go back to Google Now’s menu and tap Customize to access the Now Preferences menu.
7) Review other app settings
Under Now Preferences, look for the Apps & Websites option. If you haven’t entered your transportation choices in Google Now, you’ll have to scroll down below the settings for these. Otherwise, you should see Apps & Websites about halfway down the screen. Tap on it.
8) Say yes to everything
To see Now cards from third-party apps on your device, ensure that Yes is selected under the All Apps & Websites and Location headings. Some apps have individual settings that might be set to No by default. Tap these and choose Yes to get cards from them too.
Source from Android Magazine UK
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