How to uninstall android apps using the new PackageInstaller api?

Question

The old way of uninstalling android apps with ACTION_UNINSTALL_PACKAGE is deprecated in API level 29. Now it's recommended to use PackageInstaller.uninstall(packageName: String, statusReceiver: IntentSender) instead. This is what a came-up with so far:

fun uninstal(){
    val packageName = "some package name"
    val packageInstaller = this.packageManager.packageInstaller
    val intent = Intent(this, this::class.java)
    val sender = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, intent, 0)
    packageInstaller.uninstall(packageName, sender.intentSender) 
}

I cannot figure out how to provide the IntentSender. I tried to make an intent from and to the current activity but all this code does is recreate the activity. Any idea please? and thanks

"I tried to make an intent from and to the current activity but all this code does is recreate the activity" -- then perhaps use `getBroadcast()` and route to a `BroadcastReceiver`. We do not know what you are looking to do when the uninstall operation is finished. — CommonsWare, Apr 26 '20 at 14:50
Well normally when one try to uninstall an app, a popup window appears prompting to user whether to uninstall the app or to cancel but in this case nothing happens — Toni Joe, Apr 26 '20 at 14:55
I think that `IntentSender` is for the end result, not for the user confirmation. The user confirmation would be raised by the OS. Do you have permission to uninstall packages? — CommonsWare, Apr 26 '20 at 15:00
Yes, I added the necessary permissions as specified in the documentation but still nothing happens — Toni Joe, Apr 26 '20 at 15:12

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 28 '22 at 14:07

The Intent based method still works on API Level 29+ devices. Just change your Intent action to

Intent.ACTION_DELETE

Also you need to add the permission to delete packages as well.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES"/>

Here is the complete code :

val pkg             = "package_to_delete" 
val uri: Uri        = Uri.fromParts("package", pkg, null)
val uninstallIntent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_DELETE, uri)

startActivityForResult(uninstallIntent, EXIT_REQUEST)

In the above code, pkg is the packageName of the App you want to delete in string format and EXIT_REQUEST is an Integer value.

How to uninstall android apps using the new PackageInstaller api?

1 Answers1