So, you have all sorts of apps on your phone, but chances are, not all of them are actually useful to you all the time. There are apps that you use every day, and others that you touch once and never use again. Then, you have the apps in between -- those that you don't open on the daily but still need from time to time. These might include QR code scanners, translators, and hotel booking apps, among other things.
Since they come in handy every once in a while, you just keep them installed on your phone. The downside is that they still take up storage even if you don't use them as often. You could delete them in the meantime, but when you need them later, you'll have to go through the hassle of signing into the app and configuring the settings like before.
To solve this dilemma, Android came up with the app archiving feature. Archiving works by removing parts of the app from your phone, such as temporary files, permissions, and the software itself. This renders the app unusable but frees up storage while the app data stays on your device. This way, it's easy to restore the app to its original state. App archiving is one of the simplest ways to declutter your smartphone without doing a factory reset.