Everyone likes screen real estate--no question about that. The sole idea of having more space available for your clutter of icons, widgets, and so on is what has fueled phone manufacturers to come up with screens so large that they barely fit in our pockets anymore. We do, however, always look for more, and one sure thing that many people could (and do) away with are the soft buttons (for devices with no hardware buttons) and the status bar.

There are apps such as video players and games that hide both the status bar and software navigation buttons while active. This is known as immersive mode. But while some apps offer immersive mode, not every app has this feature built in. Sure, there are a myriad of options out there to hide either bar (or both) using tools such as Xposed Framework, or even by simple build.prop manipulation. Several launchers such as Nova and Buzz even allow you to hide the status bar and bring it back out via gestures. However, all of the above (except the launchers of course) require root or custom ROMs. Well, XDA Senior Member StupidIdea is here to tell you that you no longer need root.

GMD Full Screen Immersive Mode is an app that automatically gets rid of either of the aforementioned bars, or both. This app is really a combination of some of StupidIdea's previous works, many of which have been featured in the Portal over the past few years. As stated, the app does not require root and has the ability to hide either one of the bars, or both for the full immersive experience. GMD is actually quite simple to use, thanks to gesture controls that allow you to hide and reveal either bar through simple swipes. It also comes equipped with a notification in the status bar that allows you to switch back and forth. The app does have a few quirks such as how in order for the keyboard to work on certain apps, the Navigation bar must be present.

So, what are you waiting for? Get back every pixel that is rightfully yours by trying this app. Oh, and while you are at it, try and see if you can find any bugs within the app that the dev should know about. You can find more information in the GMD Full Screen Immersive Mode app thread.