Dec 17, 2025 · Android provides two types of physical storage locations: internal storage and external storage. On most devices, internal storage is smaller than external storage.

Dec 17, 2025 · For each app, the system provides directories within internal storage where an app can organize its files. One directory is designed for your app's persistent files, and another contains your …

Dec 17, 2025 · Write access to all internal storage directories⁠ except /Android/data/, /sdcard/Android, and most subdirectories of /sdcard/Android. This write access includes direct file path access.

Dec 17, 2025 · Android 9 (API level 28) started to restrict which apps could make the files in their data directories on internal storage world-accessible to other apps. Apps that target Android 9 or higher …

Dec 17, 2025 · We also recommend this workflow as a security best practice. Additional resources For more information about how to store and access media, consult the following resources. Samples …

Dec 17, 2025 · If internal storage doesn't provide enough space to store app-specific files, consider using external storage instead. Although it's possible for another app to access these directories if …

Dec 17, 2025 · The root directory of the internal storage volume. The root directory of each SD card volume that the device manufacturer considers to be reliable, regardless of whether the card is …

Feb 10, 2025 · Use shared storage for user data that can or should be accessible to other apps and saved even if the user uninstalls your app. Android provides APIs for storing and accessing the …

Oct 11, 2024 · Regardless of the targeted Android version, an application's sensitive data should always be stored on internal storage. Access to internal storage is automatically restricted to the owning …

Feb 10, 2025 · This is an optional feature you can declare for your application with the android:installLocation manifest attribute. If you do not declare this attribute, your application will be …