5 Hidden Google Chromecast Features Every Owner Should Know About By Now

Introduced in 2013, Google Chromecast has been in the market for a decade now. But it continues to be a household staple, powering millions of TVs and providing users with a modern home entertainment system that they can use to cast content from their mobile devices, binge-watch their favorite series, stream classic movies, or even dive into some casual games.

However, the power of Chromecast doesn't end there. Beyond these basic capabilities are a range of hidden features that not only boost your viewing experience but also add a layer of convenience to using your device. If you've been a Chromecast user for a while now, you probably already know these under-the-radar Chromecast features and incorporate them into your daily viewing routine. If, on the other hand, you're new to Chromecast and streaming devices in general, here are five hidden features you need to know to make the most out of your streaming experience.

Google Chromecast's home screen is a haven of personalized show and movie recommendations. While these suggestions can come in handy when you don't have any particular show in mind, they can make your TV look cluttered and unorganized. If you're after a more minimalist and clean version of the home screen, the Apps Only Mode is your best friend. In this mode, your home screen will only display the apps you have installed on your TV, along with featured shows and movies. Essentially, all your personalized recommendations will be hidden from sight, so you can keep your home screen neat and won't have to worry about guests cringing at your choice of shows and movies.

To enable the Apps Only Mode, open your Settings from the top-right of the screen. Then, go to "Accounts & sign-in" and select your account from the list. Navigate to the bottom of the options until you find "Apps only mode." Click on it to turn it on. To return to your home screen, just select the home button on your remote.

It's important to note that when you have the Apps Only Mode enabled, the search feature is deactivated. You also won't be able to use Google Assistant, add the content to your watchlist, and mark the shows/movies as watched. If you've bought any movie from the Google Play Store, they'll be hidden from the home screen too. You'd have to go to the Google TV app and cast the movie from there.

It's the age-old problem — your couch cushions have once again devoured your tiny remote, and you can't pause your show without inconveniencing yourself. Fortunately, Google Chromecast offers a modern solution right within arm's reach, and it involves using something you rarely part with: your smartphone. Yes, you can convert your phone into a handy-dandy remote that can navigate your TV with swipes. The virtual remote also comes complete with back, home, and power buttons, volume control (volume up, down, and mute), media playback control (play, pause, and rewind), and a button for activating Google Assistant. When you need to type something like your password or a term for the search bar, the virtual remote will automatically pull up a keyboard for you too.

To use your phone as your Chromecast remote, here's what you need to do:

1. Connect your phone to the Wi-Fi network that your TV is connected to.
2. If you haven't already, set up your Chromecast with the Google Home app on your phone.
3. With the Google Home app open, tap on the connected Chromecast device.
4. Select "Open remote" from the options shown at the bottom.
5. Enter the pairing code flashed on your TV.
6. Tap on Pair to complete the process.

Your phone will now display the virtual remote. You can also access this virtual remote from the Google TV app. Simply launch the app, select the "TV Remote" button on the bottom-right of the screen, and choose your TV from the list. Then, type the pairing code displayed on your TV.

Google Chromecast comes with a nifty feature called Ambient Mode that displays a slideshow of screensaver photos on your device if you haven't interacted with it for ten minutes. By default, it showcases stock photos like landscapes, artwork, and space imagery. However, you can also allow Chromecast to pull images from your Google Photos gallery instead, adding a personal touch to the display.

Here's how to set this up:

1. (Optional) In the Google Photos app on your phone, create an album that you want to use as a screensaver.
2. Launch the Google Home app on your phone.
3. Go to the Devices tab.
4. Tap on the Chromecast whose screen saver you want to change.
5. Select the gear icon at the top-right corner to open the device settings.
6. Under Device features, go to Ambient Mode.
7. Select Google Photos from the options.
8. Pick the Google Photos album you created. If you don't have any albums set up, just tap on Recent highlights (Chromecast will use the best images you've recently taken).
9. Go back to the Ambient Mode settings and scroll down to Portrait Google Photos.
10. Choose what you want to do with portrait images: hide, show as a single image, or display in pairs.
11. (Optional) Under Slideshow speed, pick your preferred duration.

Aside from changing the photos themselves, there are other things you can choose to display (or not display) on the screensaver, such as the local weather, time, device information (e.g., TV's name, Wi-Fi network), and photo data (e.g., date, location, album name).

The built-in Google Assistant on Chromecast is one of the features that will change how you use your smart TV. It's particularly useful during your lazy moments when you can't be bothered to search for what to watch or look for the app you want to use. Instead of pressing a bunch of buttons on the remote, all you have to do is hold the Google Assistant button and say your command. You can use the Assistant for tasks, such as playing a movie or TV show; pausing, stopping, resuming, or rewinding the current content; and opening the app of your choice.

In addition to the typical commands for watching content, there's one other thing Google Assistant can help you with: controlling your smart home devices. This functionality works similarly to how you ask your Google Nest speaker or the Assistant on your phone to control your smart home devices. The only difference is that you don't need to say the wake phrase "Hey Google" — just press the button on your Chromecast remote and voice out your request.

A few of the commands you can say include:

• Turn on the coffee maker.
• Set the living room light to blue.
• Show me the hallway camera (can be a Nest Camera or any other Google Assistant-compatible security camera).

In order for you to control your smart device using the Chromecast, you need to make sure that the device is already added to your Google Home app.

Unless you live alone, chances are you're sharing the TV with your entire family. Sure, it's perfectly fine to do so, but that's until you find odd recommendations on your home screen and different shows and movies on your watchlist. That's because your siblings and parents watch content that's entirely different from your preference. Perhaps you're into documentaries, but your brother likes mystery thrillers while your parents are into rom-coms. However, even if everyone in the family watches the same kind of shows and movies, sharing a TV can also be quite chaotic when one member decides to binge-watch a series and leave the rest of the family behind. It's easy for the others to lose track of the last episode they watched because someone else had already watched it before.

To prevent such mishaps and cater to everyone's viewing preferences, it's a good idea to set up separate profiles for each member of the household. This setup ensures that each person can personalize their home screen however they want, get their own content recommendations, and create their own watchlist.

To add a new profile to your Chromecast, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings from your Chromecast home screen.
2. Select Accounts & sign in from the options.
3. Press Add an account.
4. Enter your email address and password.
5. Accept the Terms of Service.
6. To switch to this new account, go back to the home screen. Select your profile icon from the top right and choose your newly created profile.