How to Use Android 12 at a Glance Widget

Android 12 is one of the most impressive updates to Android that we’ve ever seen. Not only are there more customization options built into the system than you can believe, but Google has implemented even more useful options. Widgets are one area where Google spent some time improving, as evidenced by the Android 12 At a Glance Widget.

How to Use Android 12 at a Glance Widget

With the At a Glance widget, this is something that appears by default on your Pixel’s Home Screen running Android 12. It has replaced the various widgets we’ve seen from Google in the past, and for a good reason.

One of the biggest reasons to use the Pixel Launcher and the At a Glance widget is right in the name. It’s because Google can pull various bits of information from your Gmail account and then show that info on your Home Screen. But here’s how to use Android 12 At a Glance Widget:

1. Unlock your Android phone and go to the Home Screen.
2. Long-press the At a Glance widget in the top right corner.
3. Tap the Customize button after it appears.
4. On the customization page, next to At a Glance, tap the Gear-shaped icon.
5. Under Personalization, tap Sensitive content on lock screen.
6. Tap the toggle next to Sensitive notifications to enable the functionality.
7. Go back to the previous page.
8. Tap the toggle next to the options that you want to see in the At a Glance widget:
   • Timer & stopwatch
   • Bedtime
   • Fitness
   • Connected devices
   • Safety check
   • Earthquake alert

This will enable those alerts and notifications to appear in the At a Glance widget on your home screen and even on the lock screen. One great example of this is if you are traveling and your boarding pass QR code will appear at the top of your screen for easy access.

There’s even more

It may not seem like there’s much to customize here, but that’s only because the rest of it is a bit hidden. From the At a Glance widget settings, scroll to the bottom and tap See more features.

There’s a description at the top of the page; you’ll find the following description:

Your Assistant shows you what you need, right when you need it, on your home screen and lock screen.

Here are the different sections and what you can enable or turn off:

• Personalization
  • Location History: Turn on for accurate weather info and location-related features
  • Home and work: Get commute info like ETA and traffic based on your home and work address
  • Sensitive content on lock screen
• Features
  • Commute & Time to Leave: See traffic and ETA
  • Weather: Current weather info
  • Alerts: Severe weather alerts
  • Travel: Flights from Gmail
  • Upcoming: Calendar events and reminders
  • Work Profile: Calendar events and reminders from work profile

As you might expect, going through the Personalization options actually takes you to your Google account settings. You’ll need to enable Location History on your account and set a Home and Work address to get the pertinent information.

Another thing to make a note of is that for the Features section, the travel and commute options only appear from your primary Gmail account. So if you have anything other than a Google account, even in the Gmail app, you won’t see those notifications appear in the At a Glance widget. Don’t forget to leave your comment below.