Issue
I've been trying to get my app to be able to delete an audio file. However, after trying many possible solutions, I couldn't really find one that works.
Here is my solution so far:
public static void deleteFiles(List<Track> tracks, Context context,
final MutableLiveData<IntentSender> deletionIntentSenderLD){
final Uri AUDIO_URI = MediaStore.Audio.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI;
for(Track t : tracks){
try {
context.getContentResolver().delete(ContentUris
.withAppendedId(AUDIO_URI, t.getUriId()), null, null);
}catch (SecurityException securityException) {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q) {
if (securityException instanceof RecoverableSecurityException) {
deletionIntentSenderLD
.postValue(((RecoverableSecurityException) securityException)
.getUserAction().getActionIntent().getIntentSender());
} else
throw securityException;
} else
throw securityException;
}
}
}
When the try block fails a SecurityException is catch then the IntentSender is passed to the live data that is observed in a fragment:
audioViewModel.getDeletionIntentSenderLD().observe(getViewLifecycleOwner(),
intentSender -> {
try {
startIntentSenderForResult(intentSender, DELETE_PERMISSION_REQUEST,
null, 0 ,0, 0,
null);
} catch (IntentSender.SendIntentException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
});
I've tried implementing the onRequestPermissionResult() method but that doesn't do anything. I've also tried deleting the files using File file = new File(), however, due to the changes made to Android 10, I didn't expect it to work.
Solution
So after many Google searches, I've come to the conclusion that the best approach (to my knowledge) is to simply turn off scoped storage for Android Q (10).
Here, I'll provide two solutions. The first is the one where I turn it off and the second is the one where scope storage is still enable. However, a thing you should note is that the second solution is a little buggy, at times it actually does delete both the actual media file and updates the Media Store, but most times it simply deletes from the Media Store only. Obviously, this isn't a very good solution as on reboot your application would then load those files back in because the Media Store would scan for them.
Solution 1 - Turn off Scoped Storage
For this solution you can still target Android 11. All you have to do is go to the build.gradle file at the Module Level and set the compileSdkVersion and targetSdkVersion to 30.
After that, you go into the AndroidManifest.xml and have the uses-permission and application tag set up like this:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
<uses-permission
android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
android:maxSdkVersion="29"
tools:ignore="ScopedStorage"/>
<application
android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"
...
After having done that, you could use the Content Resolver to delete the media file (and update the Media Store) and you do not have to worry about catching a security exception like its said in the Android docs. Your implementation for Android 11s delete operation should not be affected.
Solution-ish 2 - Turn on Scoped Storage
Firstly, in your manifest ensure that the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permissions maxSdkVersion is set to 28. Also ensure that requestLegacyExternalStorage is set to false (don't think this is required). Then simply copy the code in my original post. You do not require a Live Data if you are doing the delete operation from your activity/fragment. But you should note that startIntentSenderForResult() requires an activity.
But as I mentioned before, I did experience some bugs with this. The most frustrating thing about this solution though is that it does not delete the actual file but instead deletes the entry from the Media Store. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that @blackapps mentioned, which is that you cannot bulk delete and I might have implemented it slightly wrong. Nevertheless, this is horrible for user experience if bulk deletion is impossible in Android 10.
The tutorials I followed for this are:
https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/shared/media#remove-item
https://www.raywenderlich.com/9577211-scoped-storage-in-android-10-getting-started#toc-anchor-007
https://www.solutionanalysts.com/blog/scoped-storage-in-android-10/
Side Note - Delete on Android 11
To delete on Android 11 you just need to call createDeleteRequest() which should return a PendingIntent. From this PendingIntent you could get the IntentSender by using getIntentSender. Pass this intent sender to the activity/fragment then call startIntentSenderForResult() in your activity/fragment. This pops up a dialog to the user asking them if the application can delete a file. If the user gives permission the system goes ahead and deletes the file and updates the Media Store.
Side Side Note - Scoped Storage, Android 10 and Future
From everything I've seen, it seems to suggest that scoped storage is only enforced in Android 11 but I'm not entirely sure if the legacy option would still be available in Android 10 indefinitely. But I would have to do more research on this...
Answered By - TahmidU
