How can I let users access the internal storage directory of my app?

by

I took a closer look at the result of getFilesDir() vs getExternalFilesDir() and found that getFilesDir() returns /data/data/[packagename]/files while getExternalFilesDir() returns /Android/data/[packagename]/files. I thought the app files I was browsing in /Android/data were the internal storage directories, but now I see that those are actually the external storage directories.

If the internal storage directories are indeed never available to regular users, I wish the documentation said that instead of saying they are not available “by default.” To me at least, saying “by default” implies that the default behavior can be changed.

Anyway, I tested and confirmed that if I delete my app, files saved to the getExternalFilesDir() are deleted automatically. So that meets my need for a storage location that is clearly connected with the app (uses an app-specific directory name and is deleted with the app) but is accessible to users for occasional manual file management.

Here’s a comparison that might be helpful to someone else reading this:

  • getFilesDir() – creates an app-specific directory; hidden from users; deleted with the app
  • getExternalFilesDir() – creates an app-specific directory; accessible to users; deleted with the app
  • getExternalStoragePublicDirectory() – uses a shared directory (e.g., Music); accessible to users; remains when the app is deleted

More Related Contents:

  1. Android Error – Open Failed ENOENT
  2. mkdir() works while inside internal flash storage, but not SD card?
  3. ViewHolder class is not recognizing
  4. Android Studio – Google map still blank on real Android device on release apk
  5. android webview geolocation
  6. Intercept back button from soft keyboard
  7. How to make an android app to always run in background?
  8. Html List tag not working in android textview. What can I do?
  9. Is there an easy way to strike through text in an app widget?
  10. Android Push Notification (GCM), is there any Daily Limit?
  11. Setting WebView to view Desktop Site and Not Mobile Site
  12. Is there any reason to use the support.v4 library in Android?
  13. Use URI builder in Android or create URL with variables
  14. Fragment in ViewPager using FragmentPagerAdapter is blank the second time it is viewed
  15. Transparent AlertDialog has black background
  16. How to find the logs on Android Studio?
  17. How can I know that my WebView is loaded 100%?
  18. Getting Permission Denial Exception
  19. A resource was acquired at attached stack trace but never released. See java.io.Closeable for information on avoiding resource leaks
  20. Capture picture without preview using camera2 API
  21. Garbage Collection causes : MediaPlayer finalized without being released
  22. Why is redirecting stdout/stderr on android not working?
  23. Avoid Android Lint complains about not-translated string
  24. How to solve GC_concurrent freed? [closed]
  25. Different notification sound not working in Oreo
  26. Manually adding aar with dependency pom/iml file
  27. Fragment view in ViewPager is not restored when resuming
  28. Hex colors in Android are sometimes eight digits. How? What is the difference between #FFFFFF and #FFFFFF00?
  29. ERROR No package identifier when getting value for resource number
  30. Is there any way to force audio through the speakers when headphones are plugged in?

Leave a Comment