Is there any programming tricks that makes your application unclosable?
For example: You touch the back or the home button, but they don't do anything.
Or at least is there a way that your application blocks some applications to open?
I don't think you can stop user from moving your application to background unless it's some kiosk mode app. And the method to do that is to become device administrator and override all possible callback methods - home, back, settings, notification area etc.
If you just want to prevent your app from getting closed due to user activity you can show a persistent notification. This will allow you app to run in background even if user presses home button.
Make a launcher/Home screen app:
When users click the home button, your app will show.
You control ALL apps that can be started
On devices running android lolipop, you can use the screen pinning option available in your ROM.
NOTE: This is ROM feature, you don't have to do anything in your app.
See this great article about it.
yes its to get set the on backpressed method to.
moveTaskToBack(true);
finish();
Are you trying to hack in android OS ? Let me tell you that android apps are sandboxed, which isolates your app data and code execution from other apps.
Related
I'm facing the following problem. I want to make an android device to run only my application. All other apps and phone feautes should not be available to a user.
The reason why I want to achieve this is simple: I want to destribute devices with preinstalled application to my client but I don't want to let them use all phone featues.
This could work this way: just after android boots my application is launched automatically and than somehow all other staff is blocked.
Do you have any suggestions how to achieve that? Is it possible? Do I need to root a device?
I hope you get my problem. Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.
This is a bit crude way. But see if it is of any help.
If you create your application as a launcher it will start on boot(using system broadcast BOOT_COMPLETED).
Then you need to override all the three android buttons Home, back and recent apps.
To override back button you just have to override the onBackPressed() method.
For home button you will start a service which will run in background. This service will check if your app is in foreground or not. if not then it will bring it in foreground. so when the user presses home the service will sense the foreground app isnt yours and launch it.
But for this switching back of your app android takes approx 3 to 5sec. In that period of time you can display a warning text which will block the user from stopping the service from settings.Also if you remove the activity animations then it will appear seamless.
For recent apps button the above trick will do. If the user tries to close the app using this button your background service will sense it and launch your app.
so its the background service that does all the trick. if you some how stop the service or uninstall the app you are through :p
I am working on an application in which user should be able to use only one application,
he should not be able to switch application using HOME button,
the app. should be closed only when user presses the close button..
I have managed to override return button, don't know how to disable HOME button.
This is not possible to disable the Home Button in android When application is in the background because it might some application always disable the home button if it's possible. So this is the reason developer can't disable the home button when app in background. But In the Activity, you can intercept the home button.
In Activity you can disable the Home key in android. It work till Android 3.x only.
#Override
public void onAttachedToWindow() {
this.getWindow().setType(WindowManager.LayoutParams.TYPE_KEYGUARD);
super.onAttachedToWindow();
}
TGMCians is right.
Android will not let an activity and its services run completely alone on your device.
Using Override you can capture button clicks (home, back and menu) when your activity is in the foreground. If an activity/service has full control from the background you would not be able to switch for an incoming sms, e-mails, phone calls, etc either.
Personally I think its dangerous to override the home and back button together, if the activity hangs at some point, you can not get out of the app unless you restart the phone.
Personally, I do override the back key for exit, or return to main screen events, but leave the home button alone.
This is not possible using code at all on iOS, ever.
One usage of HOME button is for emergency situation.
Any house, apartment ... they all have an emergency method, like emergency door (exit), glass breaker (axe, bat ...); it saves life.
Similarly, on Android/iOS phone, HOME button saves users' lives (well, kind of). If HOME button is dead, the phone is considered dead as well as required an instant reboot for refresh. The button was designed for such a purpose, so that developers can't messed-up with everything.
Personally, I'm kinda of being thankful for Android/iOS framework team and whoever thought of this situation on HOME button. It saves my development so many times. I suggest you should think and consider the worst case possible if HOME button is not working in your app; for example, app fails to function as normal, HOME is disabled, so how to back to HOME screen, how to switch to other apps?...
The code provided by TGMCians is not working on 4.0+.
In case, you are working on Android framework, such as building ROMs, building frameworks for manufacturers, ... grep the source code with KEY_HOME and trace inner-depth to find how it works and disable it.
actually, it is possible to block the home button using the next methods:
use of security holes, at least on old android versions. this is done on some locker apps. i think some still work even on newer android versions, but it's a risk and it might be buggy on some devices. i know that "widgetLocker" and "Picture Password Lockscreen" try out those holes. i'm not sure how well they work now with them. best solution of becoming a lockscreen is #2 .
make your app a launcher app, which will handle the home button (user must confirm it of course). an example of such an app is "MagicLocker" , and in fact any launcher app...
using a rooted device. i have no idea how to do it, but i think it's very possible.
not quite a blocking method, but you could have your app full screen and on top (using the TYPE_SYSTEM_ALERT window layout type) , so home button won't be captured, but the user won't see what's going on behind your app. the downside is that any other button won't be captured by your app, since it's not really on the foreground.
i just want to know how can i detect if the user opens an app so an activity of mine launches as well.
For example, the user opens the sms app and right after a kind of lockscreen appears.
You can create a service which will run int the background and you can use this API to determine which activity is visible. That's how many app lock works.
As far as I understand the Android system, it is not possible unless you are making a custom firmware.
Is it possible to have an application run on a device in such a way that it is the only application that can ever run and also prevent the user from using the operating system at all? Tapping on the Home key or Back button would not exit the application and allow the user to have access to anything. If the device boots up, only this application would run.
This would be desirable in situations where devices are installed at a business for point of sales purpose or possibly where the device acts like a terminal in public places.
You can achieve what you're describing by writing your app to replace the home screen (Launcher). From there, you control what other apps will run.
The Android SDK has a working Launcher project you can start from.
Be careful to allow some method of running a more powerful app (even if it's just enabling ADB access) -- otherwise you could leave your device in a state of needing a factory reset before it can be modified.
Yes, you can override the back and home button behaviour.
Start app, override all buttons, and the user cant exit the app, evil, but should work in your scenario.
info here
My team is trying to build an Android application for a tablet that will be dedicated for this sole purpose. One of the requirements is that the application is the only thing running on the device (at least from the user's point of view). The user should not be able to close it or use any other functionality from the OS (settings, other apps, etc.).
We have been doing some research and so far have not found anything. Is this we are trying to do even possible ? Does anybody have any idea how we could approach this ? Maybe blocking the buttons ?
Thanks,
It is possible but would be ugly in the long run without a custom built rom (http://xda-developers.com has instructions on how to do this), I wouldn't know where to start code wise - but there are a couple of applications which portray this kind of functionality - TodlerLock is one such app - its designed to stop todlers from from doing anything on the device, whilst the application keeps them entertained. It appears to intercept all button presses and acts as a home application to do this for the home button.
Then there are the programs like estrongs security manager that allows a user to set a password for some or all applications and basically stops the application being run without the password (it appears to intercept the intents and opens the security manager requesting the password first, if it fails it finishes the intent) - this maybe a much easier option to use something like this - you could set a password for most things, including settings and the security application itself, everything bar your application. This will stop the user doing anything you dont want them doing without the password.
You would have to set up the device for the user before hand though, as any home screen intercepter application can be changed but the user - so you would have to set the default, then lock access to the settings so the user can't change this action.
I think the only way of doing this to have your own custom version of Android built only for you. Get the android source, remove what ever you don't want and build it. I am not sure if you would ever want not to close it but you can make sure they can't install anything else on your ROM.
Im not sure about this, but, intercept the home intent and write your own custom home?
It sounds a lot simpler than writing your own custom rom.
This is not possible without OS changes. You cannot override the home button.