Finding an app in the Google Play Store is not always the easiest of tasks. Granted, if you know exactly what app you are looking for (by name), then the process is not that bad. However, if you are just perusing the Play Store and looking for possibilities or new apps to download and check out, then it can be a tiresome process. Of course, there are features that do make the searching for apps easier and these are the sections that appear in the Play Store like Top Charts, Top Paid Apps, Top Free Apps and so on.
One of the downsides of these lists though is that they are more often likely to be full of the apps that you have already installed. After all, they are the ‘top’ apps and that does imply that they are ones currently being downloaded the most or at the very least, apps you are already aware of. As a result, hitting these lists will simply show a number of apps which all come with a little “installed” label attached, denoting that you already own the app. Not much help when you are looking for a new app.
That might be about to change though as a new feature which seems to be in testing with the Google Play Store is the ability to filter out apps you already have installed on your device. The feature looks to be coming with the help of a toggle switch which appears at the top of the list. Hitting the toggle either allows you to include the apps you have installed or omit them from the results completely. Essentially, providing a list of apps that you do not have installed yet. As this is one of those features which seems to be in testing, there are currently no details as to when or even if the feature will go live for everyone. Likewise, at the moment the feature is only being noted as relevant to app lists and not when you generally search the Play Store. Whether this will change in the future or as part of a wider roll out, also remains to be seen. Either way, you can check if you are part of the testing circle by heading over to the Play Store and to the various app lists. If the toggle is there, it will be positioned at the top of the list. You can see a demo of how it looks and works in the video below.