Recently released!
Posted on 2015-03-10, 71 comments, 743 +1's, imported from Google+/Chainfire

NOTICE: This content was originally posted to Google+, then imported here. Some formatting may be lost, links may be dead, and images may be missing.

(Make recents useful again on Lollipop)

If your recents (aka overview aka multitask) screen has become completely pointless on your Lollipop-toting device due to it listing every app you ever opened in no particularly useful order, then Recently may be for you.

Recently uses some root voodoo to manipulate the recents list, showing you only what (you tell it) you want to see.

You can limit the list of shown apps to only those that are actually running (instead of every app and every document ever), or limit it to apps run within the last X hours. The latter can be handy because Lollipop tends to be fairly aggressive in killing off apps, and you may not want an app you just used to disappear from the list.

Additionally, you can limit the number of apps shown, though it will always show actually running apps.

The app uses virtually no resources (and no wakelocks), and it doesn't actually kill any apps (it only hides apps that weren't running anyway).

Grab it from Google Play (link in the box below) or join the conversation on XDA-Developers: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3050998

+1743
nishad nadkarni commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:00:

Root voodoo haha:p

Daniel Ortiz commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:03:

oh Chainfire, you're so awesome.  I'm sick of the lollipop "recents" menu.

Jackson Taylor commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:05:

+Daniel Ortiz​ I actually like it...

Thanks for your contributions Chainfire!

Jason Tschohl commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:10:

Love it.  Love it.  Love it.  Pro purchased.  :)

cec torres commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:11:

Thx :D.. En cours de téléchargement :)

Daniel Ortiz commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:12:

+Jackson Taylor You might have to re-read my comment.  (edit:  I might have to re-read yours a few times, come to think of it)

Jackson Taylor commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:14:

+Daniel Ortiz​ you said you didn't like it and I was just expressing that I do like it is all

David L.-W. commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:16:

Really an awesome app, thank you very much :)

But I'm curious: how does that root voodoo work? Some reflection magic? Or something totally different?

Of course I would understand if you don't want to talk about details.

Daniel Ortiz commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:18:

I realized that; what I was getting at was that I don't like it, hence this app is useful to me.

Bartosz Nadworny commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:35:

+Chainfire​​ great app but the unlock pro version button doesn't work (does nothing except of asking for the root) 

Update: after I activated the freeload the button started working

Mark Voss commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:35:

How recents should have been on Lollipop - Chainfire strikes again ?

Love the fact that you can try the pro version using Freeload mode. Tried it & then bought pro for £0.85 - well worth it!

Thanks.

Aaron Stewart commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:35:

Superb..Purchase incoming.

Richard Rosner commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:37:

hm, the only complain I have with the overview is that the list is not resetted after a reboot (or only a bug in PA alpha?). Is it possible to include that?

Jason Tschohl commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:42:

+Bartosz Nadworny I noticed the exact same thing when purchasing.

Avarik J Pawns commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:43:

Gladly purchased, keep up the amazing work (especially with cf.lumen and pry-fi)

Pavel Pavlov commented on 2015-03-10 at 18:54:

Brilliant, thanks! What's the limitation of the free version? I missed it and just bought it.

Roney Carias commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:13:

Nice

Chris Bement commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:17:

Uh, this may actually make the Chrome -tab-living-in-recents useful....WE SHALL SEE.

digger vermont commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:30:

I wonder +Chris Bement​? It might for me if the Chrome tabs could be grouped together. Scattered throughout the recents though makes it annoying.

David Kunzler commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:33:

+Chainfire I cannot buy Pro. Tapping on the Buy Pro entry does nothing for me. Nexus 5. 5.0.1

Chris Bement commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:34:

That would be a massive improvement +digger vermont . The current iteration is godawful. I just installed this app on my Nexus 6, and the difference is stunning. Definitely buying Pro as soon as Chainfire fixes the donate button!

Jason Tschohl commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:34:

+David Kunzler Enable the freeloader mode.  Turn it off.  then you can purchase.

Giulio Valentino commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:34:

Any possibility to hide specific app from recently?

David Kunzler commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:35:

+Jason Tschohl thanks. Worked. Strange...

Gabriel Moraes commented on 2015-03-10 at 19:47:

That's so great! Just another thing I didn't notice I needed

Made everything so simple and neat! Thank you!

kev cunningham commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:03:

Trying it out now

Jarrod Worlitz commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:07:

Bought and upgraded to pro. At work, so will see what this does later. #justbuythechainfireapps

tonyp commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:08:

Thank you, working beautifully. This was a major annoyance in Lollipop!

Chainfire commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:31:

Thanks for letting me know about the purchase button not working. Rotating the device, or enabling/disabling freeload mode will allow you to purchase. Should be fixed in v1.01 which has already been pushed to the Play store. (Purchasing is one of the most dreadful things to properly test on Android...)

Tobias Weiberle commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:42:

I really don't understand you guys.. To me, the new recents menu is the most awesome feature of Lollipop. If I click the recents button I want want to go back to something I used recently,be it an app or website or whatever. Why should I care whether it is still open or not? Or whether my phone restarted in the meantime?

Also, if i don't want to see old entries, I don't scroll up. But if I want to, I can go back to this website or document I opened last Sunday..

Zachary Somerset commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:53:

exactly, live without these things <like me then you will look forward to getting it!

Zachary Somerset commented on 2015-03-10 at 20:53:

still running 1/2 load of Jellybean, lol

Nathan Jones commented on 2015-03-10 at 21:42:

I've currently downgraded to kit kat for the time being. But when I upgrade this will be a definite purchase. Thanx +Chainfire

Thomas Börkel commented on 2015-03-10 at 23:00:

I have configured "Running apps only" but it still seems to show all apps, not only running. I have swiped away all apps from the list and started some apps again, but it does not remove apps from the list. Confirmed with a game, that actually started like fresh when tapping on it. Nexus 5, 5.0.1. I have Recently enabled and it asks for root permission every now and then (shown by a short toast message from SuperSU). 

Nicholas Daniels commented on 2015-03-11 at 00:26:

Thanks +Chainfire​, I've been wanting something like this, as the recents have become super laggy, even on my N6. Donated!

Sim Lash commented on 2015-03-11 at 00:38:

I've heard a few people complaining about this but I've never had this issue on my custom ROM. Apps will stay in Recents after a reboot tho

Wim Vandekerckhove commented on 2015-03-11 at 05:20:

+Chainfire​​ seems like our favorite easy root Dev just can't stop coming up with all sorts of goodies that +Google Developers​​, +Android Developers​ and +Android​ should have come up with themselves!

SuperBROKEN81 commented on 2015-03-11 at 06:44:

Chain fire doing his awesome magic once again!

Kamille Liu commented on 2015-03-11 at 14:27:

This is what I want!!

Marco Russolillo commented on 2015-03-12 at 12:50:

Wonderful App! Pro Purchased! Thanks Man!

Abdullahi Usman commented on 2015-03-12 at 20:56:

+Chainfire +Chainfire​ +Chainfire​​ Hi Man, you are Good. Why dont you give us your github account and guide us(novice developers) to be like you. I like to be like you......

Сергей Гордеев commented on 2015-03-12 at 22:32:

Voody people is cool,thank you

Mɐɹgio Cɐbɹeɹos commented on 2015-03-13 at 00:50:

Any JB version of this?

Majd Hawamdeh commented on 2015-03-13 at 16:23:

You're the king!! Using it for 3 days now working PERFECTLY! purchased pro after 2 seconds from seeing how it works.

nick mata commented on 2015-03-22 at 12:11:

nicE

nick mata commented on 2015-03-22 at 12:11:

Nicsay lopez

nick mata commented on 2015-03-22 at 12:12:

Nicsay@gmail.com

Augustin Pedersen commented on 2015-03-23 at 11:58:

Works great! gonna purchase the pro version!

Helias Theodorakis commented on 2015-05-04 at 20:28:

Pro version purchased nexus 10 lollipop 5.1.1 and works great!

Jason Plaugher Sr commented on 2015-05-15 at 08:02:

How do you root android kyrocea ice cram 4.0

Raju Biswas commented on 2015-05-20 at 17:43:

sir Please upload the CF Auto root File for SM-J100H

Raju Biswas commented on 2015-05-20 at 17:44:

sir Please upload the CF Auto root File for SM-J100H

Majd Hawamdeh commented on 2015-05-20 at 22:07:

+Raju Biswas dude .. there is a place to ask for that lol

Raju Biswaz commented on 2015-05-21 at 01:15:

Sry bro bt i need my file its vry imprtnt +Majd Hawamdeh

Raju Biswaz commented on 2015-05-21 at 01:16:

Would u like to help me +Majd Hawamdeh

Bappy32 Boro Abal commented on 2015-06-23 at 11:33:

Hucca

Bappy32 Boro Abal commented on 2015-06-23 at 11:34:

Fucu

Roberto Carlos Rodriguez Montes commented on 2015-07-12 at 23:15:

Hola. Buenas... No se pueden instalar los binarios en supersu. Por favor ayuda...

Hrithik Mungun commented on 2015-07-14 at 06:16:

It help me

Raffaele Perfetto commented on 2015-07-19 at 11:01:

Come si tolgono I root

MD.LIMON HOSSAIN commented on 2015-07-22 at 05:12:

I have use now

Rommel Fangoni commented on 2015-07-30 at 11:10:

Thanks chainfire

Min Maung commented on 2015-08-10 at 15:33:

mr.minmaung1199@gmail.com

Antonio Rios commented on 2015-08-16 at 22:38:

Very useful

ravi lodhi commented on 2015-08-20 at 10:49:

V nice

ravi lodhi commented on 2015-08-20 at 10:50:

V nice

Dimitris Androytsopoulos commented on 2015-10-24 at 14:27:

Καλησπέρα...Εχω το LG V500 8.3 ANDROID 4.4.2 και το εκανα Root εχτές.Σήμερα εκανα μια επανεκκίνηση του Tamplet και πολλές εφαρμογές μου ζητούσαν ενημέρωση.!Εφαρμογές συστήματος όπως "ο καιρός "και άλλες παω στην ενημέρωση εφαρμογών και δεν υπάρχει τίποτα..Ετσι έκανα επαναφορά εργοστασιακών ρυθμίσεων..Κατέβασε ολες τις εφαρμογές απο το play store αλλά της "μάνας του καμία "..Η ένδειξη θέλει ενημέρωση συνεχίζεται να βγαίνει στην οθόνη ,έτσι έκανα κατάργηση του root. Όμως συνεχίζεται το ιδιο ..εχω σκάσει απο την στεναχώρια..Εαν Κάπιος ξερει να με βοηθήσει θα το εκτιμούσα όσο δεν φαντάζεται.ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΏ ΔΗΜΉΤΡΗΣ

Zin Min Tun commented on 2016-01-19 at 23:09:

999999999

Kevin Brown commented on 2016-01-25 at 14:20:

Unfortunately it doesn't work with Nexus 6 as it dies out after a few minutes post boot.  Needs to have a persistent notification to keep it running.  

Zin Min Tun commented on 2016-02-02 at 21:01:

aww

Carolina Sallas commented on 2016-08-23 at 12:29:

e TV e dvd crcy ubojb

This post is over a month old, commenting has been disabled.