Back Button: Home & Recent Key

Back Button puts an on-screen back button, home button and recents key anywhere you want, so you can replace a broken button or reach the navigation bar with one thumb.

Pick a small floating bar of soft keys or a single floating button. Drag it where your thumb rests, resize it, and it is ready. Every key fires the moment you lift your finger, with no animation in the way.

▸ THE KEYS YOU NEED
• Back, Home and Recents, the three keys of the Android navigation bar.
• Notifications and Quick settings: pull down the shade without reaching for the top of the screen.
• Power menu: a power button on screen to restart or power off when the side key is worn out.
• Lock screen (Android 9+): turn the screen off with one tap instead of pressing the side key.
• Screenshot (Android 9+): the bar steps aside for a moment so it is not in the picture.
• Choose which keys to show and in what order. Every key is free.

▸ BAR OR FLOATING BALL
• Bar: a row of soft keys at the bottom, or a vertical bar that snaps to the edge.
• Floating ball: one round floating button you tap to go back.
• Size from 75% up to twice the size of a normal system key, for big fingers or older eyes.
• Opacity from light to solid, so it stays visible without hiding what is behind it.
• Drag to move, or lock the position so it never slides by accident.

▸ OUT OF THE WAY WHEN IT SHOULD BE
• Hides while the keyboard is open, so it never covers what you type.
• Optional: hides in full screen videos and games.
• Optional: hides for a few seconds after any screenshot, even from the side buttons.
• Show, hide or hide for 10 seconds from a quiet notification.
• A quick settings tile to show or hide the keys from anywhere.

▸ WHO IT IS FOR
• A cracked screen or a broken button at the bottom of the phone.
• A worn side key: use the power button on screen to lock or open the power menu.
• Large phones where the navigation bar is hard to reach with one hand.
• Anyone who prefers a key on the side instead of gestures.

▸ HOW TO START
• Open the app, read what the service does, and tap Agree.
• In Accessibility settings, switch on Back Button.
• The keys appear right away. Change the style, keys and size on the home screen.
• If the keys vanish, the app helps you restart the service.

▸ FREE VS PREMIUM
• Free: all eight keys, the bar style with your own keys and order, size up to 2x, opacity, auto-hide, the notification and the tile.
• Free: the floating ball, tap to go back.
• The free version shows ads inside the app: a banner and an occasional full-screen ad. Ads never appear on the keys or over other apps.
• Premium: long-press and double-tap actions for the floating ball (for example Home and Recents), four extra skins (Midnight, Chalk, Ember and Glass) and no ads.
• Premium comes monthly, yearly or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically; cancel anytime in Google Play.

▸ PERMISSIONS AND PRIVACY
• Accessibility service: Back Button uses the AccessibilityService API only to perform the navigation actions you tap on its keys and to draw its keys on top of other apps.
• The service does not read your screen, does not see what you type and never taps or swipes for you. It is off until you turn it on, and you can turn it off anytime.
• Notifications (Android 13+): only for the show and hide controls. You can say no; the keys still work.
• Vibrate: a short tick when a key fires. You can switch it off.
• Internet: for ads, purchases and anonymous usage counts and crash reports. No screen content is ever sent.

A key not working on your phone? Write to us at the developer email on this page.

Replace a broken button and put the home button and recents key where your thumb already is.