Where should I programmatically download new version of my Android App?

Question

I'm working on an internal app for ~500 users, so I don't want to publish it in the Play Store.

I've built an auto-update mechanism where I check for updates by calling my server and initiate the download using DownloadManager and then a BroadcastReceiver .

The storage directory where I download the new version of the App is important to me as I don't want to ask my users for WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.

I've investigated getFilesDir() , getExternalFilesDir() and getExternalPublicDir() but I'm confused what are the pros and cons of each when compared to other, and will there be any blocker that I may face if I choose a particular destination? Any help regarding that will be very much appreciated.

Answer 1

It is better to use getFilesDir() and store the code in your app's private area which is not accessible by other apps, to avoid security risks. The other two options return a directory that is accessible by other apps. You do not need WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission to write files in the directory returned by getFilesDir().