Because of the recent enhancements of the Google Play Store, we from pocketpc.ch have thought ourselves about further improvements and opened opened an issue (http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=36810) with the following content at Google:
Since the introduction of the Play Store are purchased apps no longer displayed filtered. Instead, in the category "All" appear in the category „Personal Apps“ now all apps that were ever loaded on the concerned account.
Currently, on pocketpc.pc is running a survey on this topic:
http://www.pocketpc.ch/android-apps/167613-umfrage-gekaufte-apps-google-play-store.html#post1496412
Also has a corresponding thread to this topic, with a reference to the above named survey, opened at the XDA Developers:
Link to this thread
From an upcoming update of the Play Store, we hope the following functions:
1. Filter for purchased apps (or a own, different, area)
2. Ability to delete apps in the category "All"
So please help us to make the Play Store more user-friendly and vote for a better future!
Link to Google Issue Site:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=36810
How can I add "Aurora Droid" as an option to the list that pops up in the Android "Open With" menu?
Like many here, I don't use the default Google Play client (normally I have com.android.vending disabled) and (for privacy reasons) I don't have any Samsung or Google account (or any other account) registered in the Android 11 settings of my Samsung Galaxy A32 5G phone.
Settings > Accounts and backup > Manage accounts === none
But it's OK to NOT have a Google Account registered to the phone because the Aurora Store app will spoof a sign-in to the Google Play repository, so I don't need (nor do I want) a Google account set up on the phone.
Even without a Google account set up on the phone, the Google Play app (aka com.android.vending) will will still scan for and manually UPDATE about a score of "google apps" that it knows about (mostly these are the small subset of stock apps which come with the phone initially from the carrier).
Since the Google Play app can only find a tiny subset of the apps on the Google Play repository to update, there's really no value in enabling the Google Play app in my situation.
That's because even if I temporarily enable the Google Play app (aka the "Play Store" app. aka "com.android.vending") will only update a very short list of stock apps (about a score or less which it calls "Google Apps", but that's incorrect nomenclature as com.android.vending will also update pre-installed stock Samsung and T-Mobile apps).
It would be great if I could use the Aurora Store to scan for all the hundreds of apps that have updates on the Google Play repository, so that I can (if I want to) update any set of them at a simple tap of an update button after that list of hundreds of apps that have updates on the Google Play repository is enumerated.
However, as far as I can tell, the Aurora Store doesn't have a setting to manually check for app updates, en masse, on the Google Play repository without actually updating the apps (that is, the Aurora Store has a setting for AUTOMATIC updating, which isn't what I want, and of course, you can type in the name of any given app and the Aurora Store will allow you to update it - but that's also not what I want).
A workaround is to add any decent free ad free gsf free "app updater", where I can then manually update ALL my apps (whose lists are in the hundreds and not just the extremely few that the Google Play app updates).
Update Software Checker - OS Version Info, by Inspire Zone
App Update Checker - Update Software, by Pratham Tech
Software Update Checker : App & Game Updater 2021, by Pnixo
While these update checkers scan the Google Play repository to find HUNDREDS of apps that need updating, not just the score of apps that the com.android.vending app finds), and while these update checkers have a button to update each of the hundreds of apps whose newer version was found on the Google Play repository, ALL of them "open with" a list of apps that does NOT include the Aurora Store (see screenshots below).
How can I add "Aurora Droid" as an option to the list that pops up in the Android "Open With" menu?
To update the record, I still do not know what "magic" adds an app to the "Open with" list, but it happened again in this thread today:
How hard can it be to find a simple text editor that edits any text file stored anywhere you want it to be stored on your internal or external sdcard?
In that case, when you tapped on a text file in some file managers, the "Open with" contained the FOSS "Simple Text Editor" tool by Maxim Starkov (aka MaxiStar); but in other cases, that text editor wasn't part of the list of "Open with" options....
Sigh... I wish someone knew what the "magic" is that puts an application (such as a text file editor) into the "Open with" listing when you tap on a text file to edit it.
Otherwise, it's almost completely arbitrary - and that's sad if Android is really that random that the "Open with" list is essentially left to chance.
Anyone know how to clear Google Map Search results in the Android Firebase?
And why does Firebase capture such searches even if you have it turned off?
a. Android 11:Settings > Google > Developer > Firebase App Indexing
[ (You may need to turn on "Developer Options") ]b. Select "Maps <com.google.android.apps.maps>"
c. Select "Place"
What pops up on my Android 11 phone (which doesn't have a Google Account registered to it) are the "Latest updated indexables", which, at least in my tests, include the last few dozen locations you've searched in the Google Maps app.
How do you clear all Firebase indexables, en masse, on Android 11?
And why does Firebase capture ALL your Google Map destination searches even if you don't even have a Google Account?
I hear you... excellent observation
The data is likely stored in Gmaps... it's a pig.
Go through it's settings and use the factory load version. Playstore updates always make it worse.
It's doing the same thing to me... Temporarily disabling Google play Services seems to kill that interaction. I normally keep Google play Services disabled unless I need to use Gmail; apparently it was enabled when I used Gmaps on 11.10.2021.
I've used Gmaps multiple times since. Clearing Google play Services doesn't clear the Firebase data. I didn't try clearing Gmaps data as it's a pain to set up.
Firebase is another Gookill data hog.
Thank you for your observations so that I know it's not just me who has this huge privacy hole that I didn't even know existed!
I love that you volunteered additional useful details that will help me debug (and which should help everyone - which is always the point of posting) where your setup is different from mine (for example, you have the phone registered to a Google Account, I don't - and yet you saw the same Firebase App Indexing that I did).
Keep in mind that I go out of my way to NOT set a Google Account on the phone (so that Google can't save anything to that non-existing account), and therefore I NEVER sign into any Google app which "asks for" a signin (e.g., Google Maps, the GMail App, Google Voice, YouTube, Google Play, etc.).
The instant you sign in to some of those (GMail & Google Voice for example), the mere act of signing into a Google account will automatically CREATE a Google Account on the phone. So my rule is never sign into anything on the phone (hence I have no accounts set up on the phone - and it works just fine without them).
However, I do use the Google Maps app (without signing into it), where you can see in my tests listed in the OP, I searched for "100 Main Street" which was captured in the Firebase App Indexing in gory detail.
Luckily nothing was "transmitted" but every destination I ever entered into the Google Maps app was stored on the phone, where the question now is how to wipe out all that stored Firebase app indexing data, en masse?
From the standpoint of privacy, it's terrible these Android Firebase App Indexes exist, and worse, it's horrid that we don't know (yet) how to easily clear them (as they contain ALL your Google Map searches, even if you've never once ever logged into any Google Account!).
I don't have a Google Account (for privacy) but I can't root my phone yet (as T-Mobile owns it for another year and a half) so I'm stuck with just disabling what seem to be non essential Google packages.
What surprised me is that I don't have an account when I use Google Maps so I was surprised that the phone saved the search locations in the Firebase.
Looking for how that could be possible, I noticed this isn't disabled.
Google Location History (com.google.android.gms.location.history)
Looking in my free ad free App Manager, I see that Google Location History hasn't transmitted any data but it did store 32.77kB of data.
Maybe that's how Google Map searches end up in the Firebase?
To test, I just did the following (wish me luck) hoping it might clear those Google Map destination searches from the Android Firebase privacy hole.
Android 11: Settings
Apps
Your apps
(with "Show system apps === on")
Google Location History
App info
Google Location History
(with "Permissions === No permissions allowed")
[access location in the background]
[access precise location only in the foreground]
[access approximate location only in the foreground]
(with "Location === Denied")
(with "Set as default === Not set as default")
Usage > Mobile data > Total = 0 B
(Allow background data usage === I turned this off)
(Allow data usage while Data saver is on === off)
Usage > Storage > Total = 32.77 KB
(App === 32.77 KB
(Data === 0 B)
(Cache === 0 B)
Unfortunately the "Clear cache" & "Clear data" buttons on the bottom were both grayed out
So how are you supposed to clear that app data?
After doing that, I then purposefully borked Google Location History as best I could as shown below (some of the steps are similar).
Android 11: Settings
Apps
Your apps
(with "Show system apps === on")
Google Location History
App info
Google Location History
(with "Permissions === No permissions allowed")
(with "Location === Denied")
(with "Set as default === Not set as default")
Force stop
You can't "Uninstall" because it's a protected system app)
You can't "Disable" either for the same reason.
(Disable is grayed out)
Be careful when you force stop a protected system app because the force-stopped app (in this case, Google Location History) will suddenly completely disappear from your phone (AFAICT) such that it won't appear in a search inside most app drawer apps, and it won't show up in most app managers.
From experience, I know that my FOSS App Manager shows stopped/disabled systems apps but others might not be aware of this caveat. In that App Manager, when you tap on "Google Location History", you can hit the threedots at the top right and then click "View in Settings" which will bring you to the Android settings for that app, even as after you force stop the system app, you can no longer get to those Android settings for that app through the normal Android methods anymore.
Notice what I just said, which is once a system app like Google Location History is disabled/stopped, you can no longer FIND it in the Android Settings to turn it on, and even if you did find it (like I show above using my FOSS App Manager, you still can't re-enable it until you know how to do that - which I describe below for clarity).
Start the FOSS App Manager
Run a search for "google" to find "Google Location History"
Long press on the result to select "Google Location History"
Press the threedots (at the bottom right) of the selected set
Your choices for "Google Location History" will be
Uninstall
Enable
Disable
Force-stop
Clear Data
Save APK
Backup/Restore
Prevent background operation
Block/unblock trackers
Export Blocking Rules
Add to profile
You should be able to select the "Enable" option.
I figured out (I think) how to clear the Firebase search data for the Google Maps app destination searches (to protect your privacy).
I started with this existing shortcut (which was already in my homescreen shortcut folder) to the following Android Activity:
ShortcutName === Search Data
ShortcutValue === com.google.android.gms.icing.ui.IcingManageSpaceActivity
My specific "Search Data" Android Activity in the Android 11 Settings, has four entries (yours will likely have more or less depending on what apps you use).
Google Play services (2.51 MB)
T-Mobile (371 kB)
Maps (22.42 kB)
GasBuddy (1.28 kB)
To get to that "Search Data" Android Activity the slow way (instead of using that quick shortcut) you do the following on Android 11.
Android 11:Settings
Apps
Your apps
Google Play services
Storage
At the bottom, press "Manage storage"
This brings you to "Google Play services storage"
Press the gray "[MANAGE SEARCH DATA]" button box.
This brings you to the "Search Data" Android Activity
In that "Search Data" Android Activity, you select "Maps" and then "Storage" and then individually select "Clear cache" & "Clear data".
Search Data > Maps > Storage > {Clear data, Clear cache}
If you already know ahead of time that it's only the "Maps" app that you want to clear the cache & data for, you can also get there more directly using the Android 11 Settings of
Android11: Settings
Apps
Your apps
Maps
Storage
{Clear data, Clear cache}
Only after doing that procedure of clearing the "Maps" storage, do I finally clear out the Android Firebase storage of all the places I've ever searched for as the destination in a Google Maps app routing.
In my homescreen shortcut folder is already a shortcut to the Google menu in Android which brings me to the following Android Activity:
ShortcutName === Google
ShortcutValue === com.google.android.gms.app.settings.GoogleSettingsIALink
Once there, when I look at the Firebase App Indexing for "Maps", there is no longer anything stored which confirms this privacy hole has been cleared (for now).
Android 11:Settings
Google
Developer
[ (You may need to turn on "Developer Options") ]
Firebase App Indexing
Maps <com.google.android.apps.maps>
You should no longer see a selection for "Place"
Instead you should see "No indexibles found"
This is an indication that this privacy hole has been cleared.
The key unresolved question, of course, is how to prevent it from ever coming back?
Try disabling Google play Services when using Gmaps...
I want to create a direct shortcut to check for Google Play system updates – does anybody know the Android activity I have to look for?
Google Play services provides an Activity .update.SystemUpdateActivity, but that one is for the regular system updates.
I've now got my app (Painting Courses) developed Ok. I've registered with GooglePlayStore as a developer and 'uploaded' the aab of my app (as it would not accept an apk) after completing all (at least I hope so) the questions. However, even though it's now active according to the attached screenshot, it doesn't show on my phone or on the Google Play web site (both by search on the name). My app is shown in this link in the web site:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.myddns.rose.paintingcourses
What do I need to do in order for the search to fins my app (on my phone & on the Google Play web site)?