How to store data locally in an Android app

By Justin Jones Last updated Nov 11, 2022

How to store data locally in an Android app – Almost every non-trivial program will, at some point or another, be required to store some kind of data. This data can take on a variety of forms, including the configuration of the user, the configuration of the program, the user’s data, the images, or a cache of data retrieved from the Internet.

Each of these forms of this data is referred to as a “configuration.” Because some programs are able to generate data that ultimately belongs to the user, such Technology would prefer to keep the data (which may be documents or media) in a public place so that the user can study it whenever they like using other applications. It’s possible that other programs will wish to store data, but you won’t want to utilize those other applications to read this data (or even the user).

The fundamental Android app platform gives developers access to a variety of different ways to store data, each of which comes with a unique set of pros and cons.

Within an Android application, there are four distinct methods for storing data:

Table of Contents

Shared Preferences

When storing primitive data in key-value pairs, you are required to utilize this. It has a key, which must be a string, and the value that corresponds to that key can be any of the following: Boolean, float, integer, long, or string. The key itself must be a string.

An application’s Shared Preferences are saved on the Android platform in an XML file located in a private directory. This is done on the platform’s internal storage. A program may make use of a number of different shared preference files. To achieve the best possible results, it is recommended that you store the preferences of the program using the shared preferences.

Internal Storage

There are many circumstances in which you could wish for the continuation of your data, yet the shared preferences that you have established are too constrained. It is possible that you would like to proceed with Java objects or images. Or the data must maintain its logical structure by utilizing a hierarchical file system.

When you need to store data on the device file system, but you do not want any other application or the user to be able to view this data, the internal data storage technique is the one to use. You can only use this method in certain circumstances. When an application is uninstalled, any data that was stored via the internal storage technique is removed from the device and is considered to be completely private to the application.

External Storage

On the other hand, there are some circumstances in which you might want the user to be able to view the saved documents and data by your program if they so wish. Your application needs to make a request for the WRITE EXTERNAL STORAGE permission in order to be able to store (and/or read) files to the device’s external storage. You will need to ask for permission to READ EXTERNAL STORAGE if all you want to do is read from the external storage and not write to it.

Access to read and write data is granted via the WRITE EXTERNAL STORAGE permission. On the other hand, beginning with Android 4.4, it is possible to write to a “private” external storage folder even without requesting WRITE EXTERNAL STORAGE. While other applications and the user themselves are able to see the contents of the “private” folder, the media scanner is unable to access the information contained within these folders.

This app’s private folder may be found in the Android/data directory, and it is also removed from your device once you uninstall an application.

Apps can now request access to a specific directory beginning with Android 7.0, rather than requesting access to the full external drive as was previously possible. In this manner, your application has the ability to request access to specific directories, such as the picture directory only or the document directory. Access to a particular domain is the term used to describe this phenomenon.

SQLite database

Last but not least, Android extends support to applications, allowing them to make use of SQLite databases for the storing of data. The databases that are established are unique to the application and can be accessed by any class within the application; however, they cannot be accessed by programs that are not associated with the application.

It goes without saying that you need to have some familiarity with SQL before you can make the decision to employ an SQLite database as the data storage mechanism for your application.

FAQs

Where can I keep my app’s information?

Android’s storage options include both internal and external memory. Internal storage is typically less capacious than removable storage. However, your app’s data is more likely to remain intact if stored on the device’s internal storage, which is accessible on all devices at all times.

Has Android some kind of local storage?

Android When information is stored locally, it is said to be “internally stored.” It is important to note that by default, any files you save or load to the app’s internal storage are not shared with or accessible by any other apps.

What exactly is Android’s version of “local storage”?

AppSearch is a local data storage system that uses the search native library to keep information safe and accessible within the app itself. Apps can define android with the help of the search native library, which is a search engine optimized for use on mobile devices.