Disable Auto-Creation of Home Screen Shortcut of New Apps on Android

After upgrading to the latest version of Play Store on Android, every time I installed an application on my device, the system automatically added a shortcut icon of the app on my home screen after the program was installed successfully. As I love to keep my home screen clutter free, I had to manually delete these icons after installing the app, which isn’t very convenient. Hence I began searching for a workaround to not have the shortcuts auto-created on the home screen in the first place.

After exploring the market settings for a few minutes, I managed to cease it. So if you too are looking for a way to disable the auto-shortcut creation of newly installed Android apps, read on.

Disabling Auto Shortcut Creation

Open Android Play Store on your device and select Settings from the menu.

On the Play Store settings, search for the option Auto-add widgets. If the option is checked and enabled, shortcut of every new app will be added to your home screen after they are installed, as long as there’s space for it.

To disable the feature simple uncheck the option and press the back soft key.

That’s all. From now on, shortcut of new apps will never be created automatically. However, you can add them manually for specific apps if you want. You can also clear your search history and manage update settings of the apps in the Play Store settings menu.