Back in late September of last year, Google announced that it will “make changes to Android 12 to make it easier for users to use other app stores on their devices, while ensuring not to jeopardize the security measures it has implemented on Android».
See also: Android 12's privacy dashboard is probably Google's answer to Apple's privacy
However, Google did not specify exactly what changes it was going to make in Android 12 and also did not share specific information about this change at Google I/O 2021. In Google announcing Android 12, however, the company confirmed that it is "fulfilling its promise to make third-party app stores easier to use in Android 12." Thanks to the developer documentation, we finally have an idea of the changes being made.
Google has updated Android's PackageInstaller.SessionParams class with a new method called setRequireUserAction. This method indicates whether user action should be required before an app can be installed. By default, it applies to any app that has the REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES permission, which is required for any app before it can start an installation session to load an app outside of Google Play or any pre-installed app store on the device.
See also: Android 12 will be released with dramatic changes
However, no user action is required for install/update of the app if all the following conditions are met:
- The installer selects the new behavior.
- The app being installed targets API level 29 (Android 10) or higher.
- The installer either updates itself or installs an update to an app that it installed for the first time.
- The installer declares the UPDATE_PACKAGES_WITHOUT_USER_ACTION permission.
See also: Android 12: New search widget for Pixel Launcher
Thus, when an app store tries to start an installation operation period and uses this new API, it should be possible to perform the update without the user having to manually accept the update. This will make batch app updates much faster and align the experience with the Google Play Store.
Information source: xda-developers.com
