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How do you fully 100% uninstall an app? (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/android@programming.dev
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Do you just simply uninstall it from the Android settings? On desktop, when you uninstall and app, it most likely leaves files and directories behind even if they are hidden on your system.

When you uninstall and app on Android, is this also the case? Or does it also delete every single file and directory associated with the app?

Some Android apps (very, very few) Will create files in your Documents or Home directory and I understand these will not be removed when you uninstall an app.

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[–] 6 points 5 months ago (1 child)

It's very different from a Windows PC.

Windows uses an installer database to determine what files are needed and where (source, I did app packaging and deployment for NT4 through Windows 7).

Android: APKs are just zip files that extract to a specific folder - much, much simpler.

When an app is uninstalled the app folder is deleted, though the data folder may be left behind in case the user decides to reinstall the app.

This is the only part that isn't well-defined or well enforced, and why SD Maid is such a useful tool.

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