In the Play Store, you’ve only been able to cancel an app download in progress—not pause it. That’s about to change, as Android Police first reported: In version 53.0 of the Play Store, testers from Android Authority have unlocked a pause and resume feature for downloads that was previously hidden deep within the code. Google hasn’t officially announced the feature, but this discovery shows that it’s about to be rolled out.
The Problem: Cancel Instead of Pause
Anyone who currently wants to stop a large app download—for example, because they’ve used up their data allowance or lost their Wi-Fi connection—has only one option: cancel. The entire download then starts over from the beginning. This isn’t a problem for small apps, but for games or system updates that are several gigabytes in size, it wastes time and data. Users have been requesting a pause feature for the Play Store for years on the Google Play Support forums.
Here’s what the new feature is expected to look like
According to an analysis by Android Authority, tapping “Install” on an app’s page will now also display a “Pause” button. This allows users to pause a download without canceling it. Tapping “Resume” will pick up the download later from the same point. The feature is also integrated into the Play Store’s download manager, where users can already view ongoing and pending downloads.
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Google has not yet announced an official rollout date. However, the fact that the feature is already working on Android Authority’s test devices suggests that development is in its final stages. Both ghacks.net and Sammy Fans have independently reported on this discovery.
Why This Is More Than Just a Minor Detail
The new pause feature is part of a series of changes Google has been making to the Play Store’s download queue over the past few years. In 2024, Google first allowed users to download multiple new apps simultaneously—a limit that was later raised from two to up to four parallel downloads. App updates can now also be installed simultaneously rather than strictly one after the other. The pause feature closes one of the last major gaps in this area: Until now, the only way to prevent data usage during a download was to restart it from scratch.
What This Means for Android Users
In practice, the feature is particularly useful for large downloads: games with several gigabytes of additional data, system apps, or updates while on the go using a mobile network. Once the feature is rolled out more widely, you’ll be able to pause a download when you’re low on data and resume it at home on Wi-Fi without having to start from the beginning. Until then, your only options are to cancel the download as usual or let it run in the background.
Conclusion
The pause and resume feature for Play Store downloads isn’t officially live yet, but the code discovery by Android Authority in version 53.0 shows that Google is on the verge of launching it. Together with the parallel downloads and updates already introduced, the Play Store should finally resolve one of its oldest user concerns. A specific rollout date has not yet been announced.
I hope