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No explanation of how this accomplished... What about the security implications if the archived user data is stored off-device?
by jijji 5y ago
No explanation of how this accomplished... What about the security implications if the archived user data is stored off-device?
- ben1040 5y agoIt explains exactly how it will work. They generate a tiny placeholder app package to replace the application itself on-device. This way it frees up the space used by the application data, without removing it altogether, so that the associated user data can still remain with it. It’s the same concept as iOS’ feature to offload unused apps, but this appears to be implemented in a way that is backwards compatible with older devices since the Play Store is able to manage the process of replacing and restoring the app package and not the core OS.
- pmontra 5y agoSo when we want to use again that 200 MB app we have to wait to download those 200 MB again. I have many data points for which the main source of clutter on the phones are WhatsApp images and videos received in a lot of chats and groups. I know people that remove them almost daily to let their 16 or 32 GB phone receive another day worth of messages.
- Arrath 5y agoYeah, WhatsApp really is the worst for that. And there really isn't a credible reason for why it can't save that media to the expandable storage.
- barrkel 5y agoThe article talks about reducing binary size, not the user data. I think the idea is that the Archival APK acts as a placeholder for the application, so the application is not actually uninstalled, and thus app-specific user data has a place to live.