Android Auto, used by around 250 million people worldwide, has a common quirk where apps occasionally vanish from its launcher without explanation. This isn't usually a fault with Android Auto itself but a result of the phone's battery optimisation settings, which quietly deactivate apps that haven't been opened recently to save power. The fix is straightforward and requires no reinstallation or menu digging, making it an easy issue for drivers to resolve on their own.

To restore a missing app, users simply need to open it directly on their phone (updating it first if necessary) and then reconnect to Android Auto, after which it should reappear in the launcher. To stop apps disappearing in future, Samsung users in particular can disable the "auto disable unused apps" feature via Battery settings. There's no dedicated "hide app" option within Android Auto itself, but users can control which apps appear by going to Settings > Connected devices > Android Auto > Customize launcher on the car's display and ticking or unticking the relevant boxes; note that only apps designed to support Android Auto, such as Google Maps and Spotify, will show up there at all.