Require a password to uninstall/remove application

Question

I would like to require that a user type a password before being allowed to uninstall/remove my application. How can I implement this functionality?

In android, when install a application it should ask username & password. and when uninstalling the application user should enter the correct user name and password. — arams, Aug 03 '09 at 10:24
Is that not a little harsh? As a customer, if I ever had to enter a password to uninstall a piece of software I would be very p*ssed off! I'd save yourself the bother and not implement it. — Steg, Aug 03 '09 at 10:29
asking if it is possible is a bad question. The better question would be why would you want to do this? — Michael Brown, Aug 03 '09 at 11:28
A parent may want to install an app to monitor their child's phone usage. The parent wouldn't want the child to be able to remove the app. — Scott, Apr 23 '10 at 01:22
there is a sandbox application for android, when activated only some selected programs are shown in the list, and it totally prevents installing and uninstalling. activating/deactivating ofc. requires password. — guness, Jan 28 '13 at 08:25
Examine the device every night. If the app is gone, the kid loses it for a week. Next time for a month. They'll soon learn not to screw around with the oldies :-) — paxdiablo, Apr 02 '15 at 06:34

Isaac Waller · Answer 1 · 2009-09-23T21:17:53.613

14

You could do this by:

The first time your app is installed, install a separate application/package ("watcher").
The only classes "watcher" contains is a BroadcastReceiver that listens for ACTION_PACKAGE_REMOVED
Add a BroadcastReceiver to your application that also listens for ACTION_PACKAGE_REMOVED
When a intent is broadcast to one of your receivers, check if the other component is still installed. If is isn't (the user just uninstalled it), prompt for the password - if it's wrong, reinstall the other component. If it's right, uninstall yourself.

edited Sep 23 '09 at 21:17

answered Aug 05 '09 at 04:11

Isaac Waller

32,709
29
96
107

10

and, what exactly prevents user from first uninstalling this watcher ? – kellogs Jul 05 '11 at 00:14
2

Your answer is simple and awesome. Could you help me with the reinstall part? How can it be implemented? – keybee Nov 29 '12 at 08:49
@Isaac Waller : Code Reference ? – Hardik Thaker Jun 06 '13 at 13:33
@Waller:Could you please send me your code? its very useful for my application – Ekta Shukla May 22 '15 at 09:10

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 15 '12 at 09:42

4

You can exec logcat and get the start activity intent information. You will find that before the uninstall activity is displayed, there is a text msg such as: Starting activity: Intent { act=android.intent.action.DELETE dat=package:com.comodo.pimsecure cmp=com.android.packageinstaller/.UninstallerActivity } then you can pop a activity ask for password now.

answered Mar 15 '12 at 09:42

Mikonos

161
6

1

That is one very good option to be done... but can u help with little code or some kind of help which elaborates this... MY Application is the device admin , now i want to show a password page of my application before allowing the deletion. I NEED HELP TO DETECT THE UNINSTALL ACTIVITY THE APPLICATION – rolling.stones Jun 14 '12 at 12:19
1

logcat -d -n 5 ActivityManager:I *:S and all of the log about activityManager will displayed. then you can read the log to find the key word “android.intent.action.DELETE", if you found that, then is step 2: find your package name in the same log record. if you find your package name, then this log is meaning that the device has pop a activity to uninstall your app, and you can pop a password activity now. – Mikonos Aug 23 '12 at 08:52

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 28 '13 at 08:20

2

It is possible. you can do it with DeviceAdminReceiver api. (i don't no how)

edited Jan 28 '13 at 08:20

Ivan Ferić

4,725
11
37
47

answered Jan 28 '13 at 08:01

Sujith S Manjavana

1,417
6
33
60

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 03 '09 at 20:38

This is a hard problem. I can think of at least one non-evil use-case for it.

e.g. Stolen Phone Recovery app - you wish to deter ne'er-do-wells from uninstalling the app.

In this case, I can think of two sensible assumptions which would stop me implementing what you're looking for:

the thief is unaware of your app, so will not try to uninstall it.
the thief is aware of your app, and switch it off until he can get it to an iron box* to re-install the OS.

* For the uninitiated: an iron box will prevent the device sending or receiving electromagnetic signals.

Of course, this answer amounts to You Ain't Going To Need It, though I suspect you have already thought this through.

An enterprise application would be another non evil use – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Mar 19 '12 at 02:08 — zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, Mar 19 '12 at 02:08

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 30 '18 at 05:49

Protect installing/uninstalling apps by password makes Android more secure from malware/viruses. Your Android become as secure as iPhone.

How it works:

Automatic apps installing is prompted to user. You can search the app name. If not secure, Block it.
Root access is prompted to user. Too many ads is an indicator that access is dangerous.

Require a password to uninstall/remove application

5 Answers5

Linked

Related