Detect application is being uninstalled in lollipop devices - android

I would like to know which users have uninstalled my application so that I can ask them for a feedback to improve the app. Hence, I would like to detect when the user has initiated the uninstallation process on my app.
One of the older solutions on StackOverflow had the following steps:
List< ActivityManager.RunningTaskInfo > taskInfo = am.getRunningTasks(MAX_PRIORITY);
String activityName = taskInfo.get(0).topActivity.getClassName();
if (activityName.equals("com.android.packageinstaller.UninstallerActivity")) {
// do whatever is needed
Since Lollipop, getRunningTasks has been deprecated. So how can com.android.packageinstaller.UninstallerActivity activity be detected without getRunningTask?
Alternatively is there any other method to detect uninstallation process has been started on my app? Using getAppTask probably?

Apparently you wont be able to do this, you will have to rely on something called silent notification.
What we did was we sent notification every 3 days or whatever frequency you want.
On the client side as soon as a notification is received we hit a network call which mark NotificationReceived for the client. Now since notification are not full proof we assumed a threshold of 2/3 missed notification as uninstall event. And for the client we have this counter above decided threshold we contacted them for feedback.
Also no one will be willing to fill your form at the time of uninstallation as user has already decided to uninstall your application.

Read these 2 questions and answers:
native solution
GCM solution
As I know you have to mix the two. Read the limitations of first solution. You have to confirm uninstallation event of the first solution with the second solution for a complete implementation.

Hopefully, this solution will work for you. It helps you understand the reasons for your app uninstalls, reduce the uninstall rate using a powerful predictive engine and also get app Re-installs through a unique actionable channel (Android version 4.0 and above).

Just set a variable named appLastPresent for every user in the server-side and update that variable every day by calling an API using WorkManager's PeriodicWorkRequest. Also set installedDate variable when the user installs the app.
Now set up a chron job on the server side to check if the difference between installedDate and appLastPresent is greater than 7 days. Then send the user an email or message enquiring for issues or feedback, if it is greater.
NB: User can be offline for 7 days. Therefore only send email enquiring like why you are not using the app, if uninstalled please let us know why

Related

What is the best way of checking for my android application updates?

I have an android application created in android studio.
I want to check daily whether an update is available for my app or not. if yes, then notify user to download and install the update.
it should send a request to my server to check for the newest version(e.g. https://my-site.com/get-app-info/newest-version)
then it compares the version, if the version which is gotten from server was greater than current app version -> send a notification to user and ask them to update it
it should run in background once a day
at the time, device should be connected to internet
I searched a lot and I found many answers such as using these:
broadcast receiver
work manager
alarm manager
services
I faced some problems for example:
broadcast receiver with connectivity change is deprecated in android 7
a service is not a good choice, because it is always running
and many more...
I want to know which one best suits my job. and how to do it.
thanks in advance.
You should use WorkManager you can set it to run once a day and even only run when there is an internet connection.
In the work manager you would make a the call to check your app version then show a notification if there is an update.
Create the work manager somewhat like this
val constraints = Constraints.Builder().setRequiredNetworkType(NetworkType.CONNECTED).build()
val dailyBuilder = PeriodicWorkRequestBuilder<DailyMaintenanceWorker>(1, TimeUnit.DAYS).setConstraints(constraints) .build()
WorkManager.getInstance(this).enqueueUniquePeriodicWork("DailyMaintenanceWorker", ExistingPeriodicWorkPolicy.KEEP, dailyBuilder)

How to check if certain intent has started

How to check if intent or app has started ?
My use case is I am showing up notifications through my app and I want to clear them all via myBuilder.cancelAll() if default messaging app has started since my app shows sms notifications. So I am kind of looking for something like:
if (smsAppStarted) {
myBuilder.cancelAll();
}
Thanks
To check if an app has started:
Get the package name of the sms app you want to check.
Then refer to my answer here:
Android how to know an app has been started and range apps priority according the starting times
By using that code, the list taskInfo will contain the list of all apps currently running. Search that list using the package name of the sms app. If it is present in that list, it means that that app has started and currently running.
If I get you right, you need to determine, if another app is currently running. If so, then use this solution.

Samsung Chord as a Backgorund Process

I am going to enter the Samsung 2013 app contest, and one of the requirements is that you use their Chord API http://developer.samsung.com/chord.
I plan on allowing users to send messages to all phones that have my app installed. From what I gathered from the information in the previous link, this means that I will need to have a constantly running background process for users to receive the messages when they are not looking at the app at the time.
I want to know if this is true, and if so, is this viable? I am considering using the method detailed here: Android: keeping a background service alive (preventing process death) if I go ahead with this.
I'm trying to use Samsung Chord too. I thing you don't need to do this. Samsung's API Chord already provides this control.
According Chord's API:
"If a Chord node doesn’t receive a UDP signal within a specified amount of time, it considers the “missing”
node to no longer be part of the network."
And, the only thing you have to do is:
"A node cannot receive a UDP broadcast if it is in LCD-off status. Therefore, if developers want the node to discover other nodes while the application is running, the node’s status should be set to LCD-on. To do this, use Android’s PowerManager.WakeLock."
Best regards,
Adriano

Can I use android app to track user activities?

I wish to know is it possible to write an android app that when it runs at the background, it can track user activities?(Such as what other app did the user used, what phone number did user dial, the GPS location for user, etc) Cause I am not sure can a single android app react to other application, does anyone know the answer? Thanks
In the general case, no, you can't. And users would probably prefer it so.
Once this has been said, there are certain partial solutions. Sometimes the system is so helpful that it will publish Intents reflecting user actions: for example when the user uninstalls an app -- with the caveat that you don't get that intent on the app itself being uninstalled.
It used to be the case that before Jelly Bean (4.1) apps could read the log that other applications publish and try to extract info from there, but it was a cumbersome, error prone, ungrateful task. For example, the browser shows nothing when it navigates to a certain page. You may read the logs for a while with adb logcat to get a feeling of what was possible and what isn't. This action requires the relevant permission, which cannot be held by regular apps now.
Thanks to #WebnetMobile for the heads up about logs and to #CommonsWare for the link, see the comments below.
Yes you can.
You can look here for instance about phone info:
Track a phone call duration
or
http://www.anddev.org/video-tut_-_querying_and_displaying_the_calllog-t169.html
There is a way to let Android and users know you are using and accessing their data for them to determine if they will allow it.
I am unsure you can simply access any app, but in theory if you know how to read the saved files that might be possible.
For instance Runtime.getRuntime().exec("ls -l /proc"); will get you the "proc" root folder with lots of data you might need there. This might have been changed, I am not sure, and I also don't know what you need.
Perhaps to get running process try:
public static boolean getApplications(final Context context) {
ActivityManager am = (ActivityManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
List<RunningTaskInfo> tasks = am.getRunningTasks(1);
}
For this to work you should include this in your AndroidManifest.xml
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.GET_TASKS" />
See more about it: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/ActivityManager.html#getRunningAppProcesses%28%29
You certainly could but I think reporting that data back to you, unbeknownst to the user, via the internet, would be considered spyware and almost certainly illegal in most jurisdictions.
Fortunately spying users at that level should not be possible. Certain features can be achieved with abusing bugs in android which sooner than later will be fixed. I see absolutely no reason for you to know what number I am calling and where I've been lately. It's basically none of your business.

BroadcastReceiver Priority issue

I am implementing SMSListener in my app and I have set it's possibly highest priority as android:priority="2147483647" so that I should get the call on new incoming sms.
In my second sample app I have set the same priority as above for SMSListener but when I get call for new incoming SMS I am using abortBroadcast();.
When I ran both these app and I found that 1 is getting the call before 2. Now I am seeking this behaviour will remain as it is or it is not constant and 2 can get call before 1.
I want to make sure that my app get's the call whenever sms comes even if there exists some other app which has the highest priority and it is aborting the sms.
I hope I have put my point and looking for some convincing answer.
Thanks for devoting your time to my problem.
The abortBroadcast only works when they get it first, usually based on installation order, but not always.) System level apps will execute, then Android will try to sort out non-system apps. If you look at the source code, the order of execution is based on priority level, but the calls to select the order of apps is not consistent for apps over 999 or for apps with the same priority level. It might be in order of installation, but system changes can result in other orders of execution (which I have seen many times with testing this).
Another thing, from what I understand, the priority for applications must be between -1000 and 1000, inclusive.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/IntentFilter.html#setPriority%28int%29
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/IntentFilter.html#SYSTEM_HIGH_PRIORITY

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