Android: How to Clear data on app update from Playstore

Question

When I release an update for my app in Playstore, mostly it doesn't require clear Data/cache. But sometimes we want it to clear data on Update.

Is there a way, maybe a flag to enable, to automatically clear my App Data or Cache for a specific Update?

Or will I need to hanlde it myself through shared preferences?

Answer 1

Well we have to handle it internally. Here is how I am handling it.

For any version if it is required to clear data, I create a field with app versionCode to clear data for in gradle file:

defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 24
        targetSdkVersion 33
        buildConfigField("int", "CLEAR_DATA_VER", "123")
    }

In my first Activity, I check if data is cleared for the version or not:

    ...

    val dataClearedVersion = Constants.dataClearedVersion(context)

    if (dataClearedVersion == null || dataClearedVersion < BuildConfig.CLEAR_DATA_VER ){
       Constants.cleanSharedPreferences(context)
       Constants.setDataClearedVersion(context)
     }
...

 fun dataClearedVersion(context: Context): Int? {
        val sharedPref = context.applicationContext.getSharedPreferences(PREF_KEY, Context.MODE_PRIVATE)
        val version = sharedPref.getInt(APP_DATA_CLEARED_K, -1)

        return if (version == -1) null else version
    }


fun setDataClearedVersion(context: Context) {
    val sharedPref = context.applicationContext.getSharedPreferences(PREF_KEY, Context.MODE_PRIVATE).edit()
    sharedPref.putInt(APP_DATA_CLEARED_K, BuildConfig.CLEAR_DATA_VER).apply()
}