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androidencryptionsharedpreferences

Path to "device protected storage" or "direct boot" sharedprefs file

Starting with Android Nougat, I used the following code to move the sharedprefs location from the "credential encrypted storage" to "device encrypted storage" so that I can access it before the user unlocks the device (otherwise known as DirectBoot):

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) {
        // All N devices have split storage areas, but we may need to
        // move the existing preferences to the new device protected
        // storage area, which is where the data lives from now on.
        final Context deviceContext = context.createDeviceProtectedStorageContext();
        if (!deviceContext.moveSharedPreferencesFrom(context, PREFERENCES_NAME)) {
            Utils.logWarn(TAG, "Failed to migrate shared preferences.");
        }
        storageContext = deviceContext;
    } else {
        storageContext = context;
    }
    sharedPreferences = storageContext.getSharedPreferences(PREFERENCES_NAME, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);

The old location for the file was in /data/data/app_name/shared_prefs/shared_prefs_file_name.xml

Where is the new location for the shared prefs file?

I'd like to know this so that I can copy the file to external storage for a backup/restore function.

Solution

  • As stated in this blog you can find the Device Encrypted Storage under path 'data/user_de/...'