This article explains how to stop or allow an app from displaying its media controls in Quick Settings in Android 12.

What to Know

  • Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Media.Tap an app from the list to turn its media player on or off.

How to Customize Quick Settings Media Player Apps

Editing which apps are allowed to show their media player in Quick Settings is done through the Media area of your phone’s settings, and it’s really easy.

  • Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Media.
  • If your settings don’t look like that, you’ll need to update your Android OS. To enable the installation of Android 12 beta, sign up on Google’s website.
  • Tap the button next to the app whose media controls you want to enable or disable.

Why Stop an App’s Media Controls From Displaying?

Android 11 also shows media controls in Quick Settings, and for good reason. It makes controlling media playback really easy from the notification area. What makes Android 12 different is you get to pick which apps should have their media controls hidden.

Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Media.

If your settings don’t look like that, you’ll need to update your Android OS. To enable the installation of Android 12 beta, sign up on Google’s website.

Tap the button next to the app whose media controls you want to enable or disable.

Running more than one media-playing app will show playback controls for all of them. If you don’t want to clutter up the Quick Settings area with all of those controls or have to swipe through unnecessary ones to find what you want, disabling some of those apps as described above is the only way to selectively clean it up.

Another situation where management of the media controls comes in handy is if you like to switch between apps playing content. Say you’re using SoundCloud but you want to open a YouTube video briefly. Performing this switch is fine, but when closing YouTube, its controls might remain front and center in Quick Settings when what you really want is to resume SoundCloud. Disabling YouTube from showing its media controls would be an easy fix if you encounter something like this often.

Since this feature is in the beta version of Android 12, it won’t necessarily stick around through the public release. If it does, there’s no guarantee it’ll exist in the exact same way as it’s described here.

  • How do I change my Quick Settings panel?
  • To rearrange or edit your Quick Settings panel on your Android phone, open the Quick Settings Panel and drag it down to reveal the full tray, then select Edit (pencil icon). Long-press an item (tap and hold), and then drag it to where you want it to be. Drag items into the tray if you want to see them, and drag them out of the tray to hide them. To have an item show up in the abbreviated Quick Settings menu, move it to the top six tiles.
  • How do you add something to the Quick Settings Panel?
  • Depending on your phone’s model, your Quick Settings will include default tiles as well as tiles from some of the apps you’ve installed. Edit Quick Settings and drag a tile up to the top to include it in your abbreviated Quick Settings. To add a custom tile to your Quick Settings panel, including app shortcuts and browser links, download a tool such as Custom Quick Settings. Custom Quick Settings lets you add custom tiles and perform additional edits on your Quick Settings panel.

To rearrange or edit your Quick Settings panel on your Android phone, open the Quick Settings Panel and drag it down to reveal the full tray, then select Edit (pencil icon). Long-press an item (tap and hold), and then drag it to where you want it to be. Drag items into the tray if you want to see them, and drag them out of the tray to hide them. To have an item show up in the abbreviated Quick Settings menu, move it to the top six tiles.

Depending on your phone’s model, your Quick Settings will include default tiles as well as tiles from some of the apps you’ve installed. Edit Quick Settings and drag a tile up to the top to include it in your abbreviated Quick Settings. To add a custom tile to your Quick Settings panel, including app shortcuts and browser links, download a tool such as Custom Quick Settings. Custom Quick Settings lets you add custom tiles and perform additional edits on your Quick Settings panel.

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