We’re quite confident at this point that Google will never allow for Pixel owners to completely turn off the At a Glance widget on your homescreen. We have been asking for the ability to do so for years, with our first formal request happening back in 2020. Maybe we didn’t ask politely enough?
With each new Pixel release, there are always a few requests on the Google Pixel subreddit, calling for Google to allow users to remove the widget entirely. Its permanent home is in the upper left corner of your screen, and whether you disable it or not, you can’t actually get rid of it. That’s its home and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Google has made an effort to make the widget more useful, showing an absolute massive amount of cross-app data from your phone. For example, you can track the status of your rideshare, get commute info, track flights, stay updated on package deliveries, plus a whole lot more. The issue is, what if I simply don’t want that stuff right there? Maybe I want it on another page? Well, that’s too bad, because you can’t move it.
Making this reality tougher to swallow is the existence of a dedicated At a Glance widget that you can add anywhere to your homescreen. The widget can be customized to match your phone’s appearance, but most importantly, you can move it to wherever you want. Personally, I never use it because what’s the point of double dipping At a Glance if I can’t remove the first one? Make it make sense, people.
Pretty please, Google, with a cherry on top: Provide Pixel owners a way to remove At a Glance entirely from the homescreen. Your entire Android experience has become centered on customization and freedom of expression, yet you seem determined to make At a Glance this thing we need to have. We don’t get it.
