What is the difference between Activity and Context?

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As far as I understand:
Context is the Base Object. So every Activity same as Application derives from Context. This means that every Activity and every Application IS a Context;

From developer.android.com Activity

java.lang.Object
  ↳ android.content.Context
      ↳ android.content.ContextWrapper
          ↳ android.view.ContextThemeWrapper
              ↳ android.app.Activity

And Application

java.lang.Object
↳   android.content.Context
   ↳    android.content.ContextWrapper
       ↳    android.app.Application

An Application context lasts, as long as your app is alive, while the Activity context dies with your Activity (it is not valid after onDestroy of that Activity).

So if you need the Context across Activities (i.e. in a Singleton) you will be better off using an Application context.

Usually on Android Framework methods where a context is expected, it makes no difference which one you pass. But be always aware of MemoryLeaks if you’re keeping long-living References to a Context

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