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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• You can change Android Auto for a custom experience.
• The apps, interface, and operation can be changed.
• Modifications are easy to find and only take a minute.

Android Auto is one of the easiest ways to make your car smarter, but you might not realize the platform offers customization options to make it your own. Whether it’s the system’s appearance, changes to how it operates, or the notifications it sends, you can fine-tune Android Auto to your specific needs in several ways, making it even more useful.

Also: 6 Android Auto apps I wish I found sooner, because they make every drive easier

Here’s a look at seven ways you can customize Android Auto. Some of these options are in your phone’s settings app, some are in the Android Auto app settings, and some are hidden behind developer mode, but they’re all easy to find and only take a minute to change.

1. Customize your app launcher

Tired of seeing apps you never use in Android Auto? You can delete ones you don’t want and prioritize the ones you do, so you don’t have to scroll every time to find them. 

Head to Settings, search for Android Auto, and look for Customize Launcher. You’ll have the option to check or uncheck the apps you want to appear, or set a custom order rather than alphabetical order. 

2. Pick day or night mode permanently

I generally like dark mode on all my phone apps, and it’s the first option I look for when I download a new tool. Usually, Android Auto sets to day or night mode depending on the time of day, ambient lighting in your car, or even your headlights. 

If you prefer one way, you can toggle Android Auto’s day/night mode. You can pick either day or night all the time, or choose “Phone controlled,” which follows your phone’s settings.

3. Set custom routines and shortcuts

ZDNET’s Maria Diaz took a deep dive into what might be the most useful customization in Android Auto: routines and shortcuts. You can also add a shortcut to your launcher to call a contact or run a Gemini command, which means you can do just about anything. 

Also: I’ve used Android Auto with Gemini for 2 months now – it’s transformed my drives in 4 ways

You can set a shortcut to send a text to someone that you’re heading home from work, and turn your thermostat down as you near the house. You can even combine these steps so that a “leaving home” shortcut, for example, runs the robot vacuum, turns up the thermostat, locks doors, and turns off all the lights.

4. Fine-tune text notifications

Android Auto gives you a surprising level of control over how you’re notified about messages. You can turn text notifications on or off. However, you can also choose if you want to hide or show group conversations, show the first line of a message or not, whether a chime plays, whether Gemini can see your messages, and if you want Gemini to summarize long messages. 

5. Switch the location of media controls

Head to settings in the Android Auto app, and you’ll see an “Advanced” section that lets you toggle whether you want media closer to you or for navigation. By default, navigation media controls are on the driver’s side, but you can move them closer if you use that setup more often.

6. Make your car match your phone

If you’re bored with the stock geometric background on your screen, you can make Android Auto feel more like an extension of your phone. This setting might be in your phone under the Display section of Android Auto settings, or in the Android Auto settings on your car’s screen. 

Also: Android Auto runs faster and smoother now, thanks to my 4 easy tweaks

Either way, when you toggle the setting on, it will instantly grab your phone’s home screen background and set it as the backdrop for your car’s app grid. This feature doesn’t work with live or animated wallpapers, but it works with almost any other. 

7. Stop the startup chaos

The fact that Android Auto picks up where you left off is simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite features. There are times I’m diving back into my favorite podcasts as I back out of the driveway, and there are times I’m frantically pressing the pause button before my kids hear things I don’t want them to from those same podcasts.

You can stop the startup chaos by turning off “Start music automatically” in settings, or turning it on to have audio start automatically.