How to prevent android app from updating from the google play store?

Question

I have an android app that is published in the Google Play Store. The Google Play Store app is how end-users install updates. I realize it's up to the user's discretion to turn on auto-updates, so this feature may or may not be turned on with any given phone.

My app runs a foreground service with an icon in the notification bar when it's running. During testing of the auto-update procedure, I noticed that if the service is running and the app updates itself, the service is shutdown (which is to be expected since new code is being installed).

However, I would like to avoid this if at all possible. What I would like to happen is find a way to detect when auto-update tries to update my app. If the service is running, I'd like to deny updates until the service finishes it's work and shuts down.

So is there any way to detect when the google play store attempts to update your app, and if so, is there a way to block the update until you determine your app is in a safe state to shutdown?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to detect when the Play Store attempts to update your app, unless you have a second app to listen for this event. And even if you have a way to detect this, I don't think you can cancel the update.

Maybe it would be an idea for you to transfer the work you are doing to your second app while the first one is being updated. However, I needn't say that this sounds like a very hacky solution.

You should focus on saving your state and continuing from where you left after the application is updated and started.