Database Info

Is there such an app that locks your gallery?

Is there such an app that exists that will allow you to password lock your gallery everytime you want to access it? This includes photos and videos.
ie: a girl im on a date with likes my phone and wants to play around with it, i dont want her going thru my gallery and seeing pics of me and other girls.

there is an app called lokpix or lokpixlite that you can set up to password protect pictures you don't want people to see. It takes them out of your gallery and puts them in it's own gallery inside the app. Then anyone can look at your gallery minus the hidden pics.

Gonesingle said:
Is there such an app that exists that will allow you to password lock your gallery everytime you want to access it? This includes photos and videos.
ie: a girl im on a date with likes my phone and wants to play around with it, i dont want her going thru my gallery and seeing pics of me and other girls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok fair enough, Photovault is one of the better ones.
it's not free, but its a small price to pay for not getting busted

I use file cover, it also locks videos.
Stea1thmode said:
Ok fair enough, Photovault is one of the better ones.
it's not free, but its a small price to pay for not getting busted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I DL'd file cover (free) and it doesnt do videos? is that only available for pro. any other suggestions for free

Gonesingle said:
I DL'd file cover (free) and it doesnt do videos? is that only available for pro. any other suggestions for free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the video is only pro

- use Astro File Manager.
- creat a new folder, put stuff you dont want anyone to see in there.
- put a . in front of the folder. ie: .Private
- that folder can't be view in the Gallery, only Astro can.

xxlikquidxx said:
- use Astro File Manager.
- creat a new folder, put stuff you dont want anyone to see in there.
- put a . in front of the folder. ie: .Private
- that folder can't be view in the Gallery, only Astro can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good to know thanks!

xxlikquidxx said:
- use Astro File Manager.
- creat a new folder, put stuff you dont want anyone to see in there.
- put a . in front of the folder. ie: .Private
- that folder can't be view in the Gallery, only Astro can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, thanks.

You can also put a blank file named ".nomedia" (no quotes) in any folder you dont want to show up in gallery/music/etc (but will show up in astro or similar)

i tried to create a folder named .Private , but it seems that Windows doesnt like this. It keeps telling me to type a folder name. Any1 else having problems creating a folder with a "." infront of their filename

Gonesingle said:
i tried to create a folder named .Private , but it seems that Windows doesnt like this. It keeps telling me to type a folder name. Any1 else having problems creating a folder with a "." infront of their filename
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right because that's not a valid folder name in windows. You need to do it on your device (using a file manager program such as astro, or terminal emulator by typing something like mkdir /sdcard/images/.pron/). You could also use ADB from your computer and shell in and use mkdir that way.

Gonesingle said:
i tried to create a folder named .Private , but it seems that Windows doesnt like this. It keeps telling me to type a folder name. Any1 else having problems creating a folder with a "." infront of their filename
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to create a file inside the folder you wanna hide named .Private (or .nomedia).

I'm using a .nomedia file inside my 'files' folder. My wife doesn't see the need for porn on my phone, but what does she know?
Besides, I don't need my 3 year old finding such things. That would be awkward to explain...

[TUT] 'Removing' some of the bloat

Here's a rough tutorial to 'remove' some of the bloatware using adb. Since we don't have a working recovery or sbf file yet, it is preferable to rename files (change .apk to .bak) rather than completely removing them. This way you can simply rename them back if there's an issue. Keep in mind this is all case sensitive.
**NOTE: Do not remove BackupAssistantClient.apk, HelpCenter.apk or anything "Blur" related. As usual, proceed at your own risk**
Naturally, you need to be rooted and have adb installed before doing any of this.
Commands:
adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
cd /system/app
mv CityID.apk CityID.bak
mv Skype_mobile.live.apk Skype_mobile.live.bak
(same syntax for each apk you want to rename - CASE SENSITIVE!!)
mount -o ro,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
exit
exit
List of files ok to rename (case sensitive):
CityID.apk
Skype_mobile.live.apk
MyVerizon.apk
Skype_mobile.live.apk
Vvm.apk
WorkContacts.apk
amazonmp3_1.7.22_signed_zipaligned.apk
Blockbuster.apk (may need to uninstall updates first)
Mynet.apk (3G Mobile Hotspot)
redding-7648-signed-zipped.apk (Kindle - may need to uninstall updates first)
Thanks to qoncept @ droidforums.net

Question
Is there a file manager I can download after rooting my Droid 2 that would allow me to do this on my phone with a GUI?

I am getting: "no such file or directory" When trying to rename any of the files.

makickal said:
Is there a file manager I can download after rooting my Droid 2 that would allow me to do this on my phone with a GUI?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Used root explorer and did the rename .bak. worked like a charm.

ITGuy11 said:
I am getting: "no such file or directory" When trying to rename any of the files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, I forgot cd /system/app (see above)

blubyu87gt said:
Used root explorer and did the rename .bak. worked like a charm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used Astro & Linda and keep getting "Permission Denied". I'm guessing I don't have permissions to rename these Apps. How would I go about changing that?

makickal said:
I've used Astro & Linda and keep getting "Permission Denied". I'm guessing I don't have permissions to rename these Apps. How would I go about changing that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that isn't a root browser. you would need root explorer or some other rooted file browser.

djh816 said:
that isn't a root browser. you would need root explorer or some other rooted file browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah I see. Any recommendations on a free one?

Really hoping someone figures out how to dump some of this blur stuff, namely contacts, I'd like to go back to stock android contacts, the moto stuff is awful.

I'd like to know if there's anything else safe to "disable" beyond the list in the original post. There are some things that are always running, no matter how many times I force stop them. And these are things I have no interest in using, like:
-Social Networking
-News
-Weather
I keep killing them, and they keep coming back. Is it safe to "disable" them?

I got rid of the social networking app a few days ago and I haven't run into any problems yet
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

What is the file name for Social Networking?

Its Friendfeed or something very close to that but you should check

Thank you!

I've gotten rid of socialnetworking and bunch of related apks and widgets, plus news and news&weather and the other weather widget with no ill effects. Its been 3 days.
Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the insight. I was wondering about those as well because my main concern is getting rid of all the apps running in the background sucking down battery and slowing down the apps and functions that I actually care about.
I removed the Social Networking already -- did you remove the Social Messaging apps?

Renaming dlna.apk doesn't seem to have caused any issues either.
Also, anyone know what Media Share's .apk is?

I find that it is faster after removing skype, amazon, blockbuster, cityid, and friendfeed. I swear the battery last longer also.

After playing with this phone some more, I see two problems: Verizon bloatware and Moto Blur services.
The Verizon garbage is obviously just that, garbage. The MotoBlur stuff really pisses me off because when I go into Applications --> Running Services, there are WAY too many services running in the background sucking up CPU power and killing my battery. I killed off every Motorola service I could find in there and the difference was IMMEDIATELY noticable. Everything was smoother and quicker -- switching home screens, scrolling lists, loading different screens. I would love to just throw stock FroYo on this and see how nicely it performs.

illwill18 said:
Renaming dlna.apk doesn't seem to have caused any issues either.
Also, anyone know what Media Share's .apk is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is HomeSyncWizard.apk

APK Batch Rename Tool (for Windows and Linux)

Hi guys!
This is a quick tool I jotted together for myself in the past couple days and found it very useful. So I decided to clean it up and share it. Hope you will like it! Do comment and ask!
APK Batch Rename Tool
* for Windows and Linux for now.
APK Batch Rename Tool recursively crawls input folder and all of its subfolders looking for Android Package files (.apk's). It reads Label and Version info from apk's found and creates a copy for each apk under the output folder but using the Label and Version info acquired.
For example a com.example.hw.apk will make Hello World! 1.21.apk provided that the label inside the package was set to Hello World! and version is 1.21.
The old and the new apk files are 100% the same in terms of content and are unchanged. Only the new copies are given new filenames. Input files are left completely intact.
Why?
Have you ever wondered what are your 1500+ apk files with wierd names nested to different wierd folders on your harddrive? Have you ever wanted to find an app but you were unable to because it had some undescriptive javaish name that made no sense reflected no version and your apps were swept across a hundred junk folders anyway? Then APK Batch Rename is the tool for you! And me!
APK Batch Rename will set a human readable name for all your Android apps, and drop such a copy into a folder. You will finally be able to browse them, sort them alphabetically and be able to pick from versions available.
How?
1. Copy all your apk files (or folders with apk files in them) into the input folder. You may copy folders of any depth. APK Batch Rename Tool will recurse all subfolders of the input folder anyway.
2. Hit or click ApkBatchRename.bat . (For Linux users it's: apkbatchrename, or on a terminal enter: ./apkbatchrename ) Wait until it finishes the job.
3. Find your freshly named files in the output folder.
Simple as that!
Have fun! & Comment!
phsorx

great work, just like reading mp3 tag then rename to "song - artist.mp3"
thanks!

Cool. I use to do it manually. Time saver app.
Thanks.

This is awesome! Thank you very much, situation you described in first post is just like mine, I find your tool very useful!

Folks,
Let me join you crediting phsorx's job, that app is just great!
Thanks and congrats!

Very cool, Works well. Always wanted to do this but was too lazy to try aapt.
I just checked:
aapt said:
badging Print the label and icon for the app declared in APK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Code:
> aapt d badging Talk.apk
[B]package: name='com.google.android.talk' [/B]versionCode='130' [B]versionName[/B]='1.3'
sdkVersion:'8'
targetSdkVersion:'8'
uses-permission: **truncated***
application: [B]label='Talk'[/B] icon='res/drawable-hdpi/ic_launcher_google_talk.png'
uses-feature:'android.hardware.touchscreen'
main
other-activities
search
other-receivers
supports-screens: 'small' 'normal' 'large'
locales: '--_--' 'es' 'es_US'
densities: '160' '240'
I'll definitely use your script but with a small change to show the package name as well as its valuable for when you need to uninstall the package.
i.e label_packagename(version).apk -> Talk_com.google.android.talk(1.3).apk
Attached a slightly modified batch file and screenshot
For single file one-off renames (right-click->open with->rename single) you can use the script here.

De jo! Honfitars. Hajra Magyarok!

Customizable naming planned in future version
britoso said:
Very cool, Works well. Always wanted to do this but was too lazy to try appt.
i.e label_packagename(version).apk -> Talk_com.google.android.talk(1.3).apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Britoso,
Yeah! That's a neat way to do it too!
Eventually I want to make naming and spacing fully customizable! Including what attributes to pick (name, label, versionName) to constitute the filename, and what separators (_,-,(,),space) should go where.
In the howto.txt I have a little road-map for the project. Will add customizable naming too.
Will keep you guys posted.
EOF
phsorx
Ps: Anyone who has another naming suggestion drop a post! I'd be interested.

great job...bravo..
thanks

Very nice tool, thanks for sharing this .
Using it with britoso's edited script.
Edit: I would appreciate it if a log of the conversion would be saved in a \logs\ subfolder, so I can check which files were not converted properly and see if I have to do those manually.

Handy ! Thanks...

deleted

For one-off renames you can use the below batch file.
1) create the below batch file in the same folder as apkrename.bat (its attached too)
Name: rename-single.bat (change this if you want)
content:
Code:
cd "C:\change_me\ApkRename\"
apkrename.bat %1 %~dp1
Change the path(change_me) as needed.
2)Associate it with apks by right clicking on the apk and choosing "choose default program", browse and select the batch file "rename-single.bat".
Uncheck "make this the default operation"
Screenshot and batch file attached. Enjoy.
update:
-12/8 uploaded a new version that fixed a bug involving long path names with spaces.
Also added a check for success and then delete the original apk. (backup your apks just in case).
Remember to set the path to the ApkRename folder in rename_single.bat once before using it.

Really gd job )

APK Batch Rename Tool for Linux is on the way
luvgirl12345 said:
would like a linux version...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi luvgirl12345,
The Linux port is on the way & will be posted here soon!
Actually, the Windows release is running on win32 ports of a few common Linux tools. And that's so, because I am lazy. Having Linux's much better support for shell scripting plus the same tool set always at hand, porting is a breeze.
Ciao,
phsorx

Sounds very useful, thank you!

Looks nice for massive apk renaming.
Found a similar tool called APKInfo some month ago which i am using for single apk files for a while now.
But finally something for batch renaming.
Thanks

your the man!, works like a charm. Thanks!

Any plans for making an Android version of this to run on our devices?

Future plans for an on-phone version of the APK Rename Tool
del4 said:
Any plans for making an Android version of this to run on our devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! Certainly. Its in the plans.
But firstly there are a few things to be fixed on the desktop version first. See road map section of the howto.txt file in the archive. The most burning issue is the so called overwrite issue that I want to be sorted out next. Say you have two copies of the same app (same name, label, versionName) but one of them has a patch against it (because its been modded by a reverser) than one of the copies will overwrite the other (ApkRename 1.10).
Secondly on a mobile device's SD card there is usually less space than on a desktop's hard drive. This implies that APK Renamer will actually have to rename the files in place instead of creating a copy of each in a separate folder. Or at least it will need to figure out the empty space left on the device, and if its not enough to hold the copies, it should offer in-place renaming instead. Not a lot of logic to add but still...
Having all the outstanding questions be figured out on the desktop still, will allow me to implement a more established version for the phone right from start. But hold still its not going to take very long
Bests,
phsorx

Android file management idea

I have noticed that android apps are horrible with file management. When you install an app on the phone it installs a whole new file hierarchy.
Example... when you install Meme Generator it creates a memegenerator folder within that folder it caches Favorites, Instances, Generators, and shares
when you delete the app it doesn't remove this folder or any of its contents​
My idea is an app that would scan folders and mark if the folder is useless or not. Especially the unknown data folders that say something like com.fatsecret.android and have nothing but random .dat files or a .nomedia folder/file. Almost like a registry checker for a PC.
Another idea is to have an app that scans the SD card and locates all media. It would tell you how many of what type of file you have on your phone, and allow you to mass move to selected folders (Not copy or transfer but actually move th file to its new location)
im no programer but these would be great apps if they were to be developed

It would be really great man, unfortunately, I'm not able to develop things like this, but let me know about if it's ready.
Sent from my Boston using XDA App Slovakia

Lmfao i neglected to mention I am only beginning to learn the android programming. So im in no position to even comprehend programming this ... but im researching the possibility.
Smells like WINNING from my T-959 xda premium app

File management is very messy at the moment. Something needs to give!

I agree, I've been looking for a decent file manager, but haven't found anything yet!

theblacknight said:
I agree, I've been looking for a decent file manager, but haven't found anything yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are quite a few but 'Astro' seems to be the most popular. Give it a try!

I use Astro and i'm quite happy with it.

The question would be how to determine useless folders.

Dark3n said:
The question would be how to determine useless folders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My initial idea was to use a system similar to a windows registry. Once the app starts for the first time it will create a database that stores folder data, which then it tries to match to an app that installed it. If the folder shows that the app that created it has been deleted it shows a red folder or has a negative mark next to it, if its still installed it shows a positive or green folder. This way you can get rid of the bad folders.
My second idea was to have an app create a drop folder for certain file types. For instance a folder like MY DOCUMENTS that has the folders MUSIC, PICTURES, AND VIDEOS. When the app starts it has you select a folder to drop a specific file type (example .MP3 files into MY DOCUMENTS/MUSIC). The all then media scans the phone and locate all matching file types and MOVES the file not COPYS.
Smells like WINNING from my T-959 xda premium app

Something kinda similar to what you want was introduced in FroYo. It gives each app a directory (on the SD card I don't know about onboard memory) that is automatically deleted by the system when the app is installed. Currently it has a few fairly big bugs but hopefully they will get fixed and developers will start to use it.

coreyja said:
Something kinda similar to what you want was introduced in FroYo. It gives each app a directory (on the SD card I don't know about onboard memory) that is automatically deleted by the system when the app is installed. Currently it has a few fairly big bugs but hopefully they will get fixed and developers will start to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds liie it will be excellent once its implemented. I'm sure as most new things take time to catch on this will probably take a little while for it to happen. Maybe Google is going to make it mandatory for devs to do this.
Smells like WINNING from my T-959 xda premium app

It wouldn't necessarily have to be an app but some process that would make create or add to (create a sub-directory) default folders. I'm not saying it has to be a window like system but as simple as it gets Music, Images, Documents, Downloads maybe a spare folder for necessary background files (Hidden) But accessible when needed. The biggest problem here is that I don't think too many people that want this solution are programmers. because if you know how to program then you spend all day sorting throu this stuff anyway.

Well i'm on 2.2.1 and the system still keeps the settings folders in /dbdata/databases/*packagename* after you uninstalled it.
I usually resort to deleting the folders in adb shell when programming and testing apps.
So it seems there is need for this and there is no such tool yet?
I might start on it then, do you think there is enough intrest in something like that?
Help me with the most difficult and important step, invent a name for such an app !

Sounds like a useful tool. Great idea.
I'm constantly searching through my sd card and trying to figure out what can be deleted.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

mobbeel said:
I use Astro and i'm quite happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried file expert? So much functionality for free.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Dark3n said:
Well i'm on 2.2.1 and the system still keeps the settings folders in /dbdata/databases/*packagename* after you uninstalled it.
I usually resort to deleting the folders in adb shell when programming and testing apps.
So it seems there is need for this and there is no such tool yet?
I might start on it then, do you think there is enough intrest in something like that?
Help me with the most difficult and important step, invent a name for such an app !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Name ideas
-sd looter
-Datei Objekts (file objects in German)
-file euphoria
-Zen management
-SD filed or SDefiled
Just a few to spark interest.
Smells like WINNING from my T-959 xda premium app

Allright, here we go:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1013063
First version is out, please help me test it.

This needs to be created. I'm just sorry I can't do any of the programming.
Just Incredible

GALLERY - Howto Prevent Indexing Certain Directories

I have a folder on my SD card that I don't want images to appear from. Is there a means to exclude certain directories?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA Premium App

Put an empty file called .nomedia in the directory.

This one works well for me - makes the process easier:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.studiokuma.nomedia

What kind of images don't you want to show up in your gallery?
The .nomedia method should work for you, if not you can always rename the folder with a "." at the beginning to make it hidden
Folder name examples:
.pr0n / .dontlookhere / .ignore

kyouko said:
What kind of images don't you want to show up in your gallery?
The .nomedia method should work for you, if not you can always rename the folder with a "." at the beginning to make it hidden
Folder name examples:
.pr0n / .dontlookhere / .ignore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.nomedia works for me, as far as keeping stuff out of the gallery. Being all grown up in my computer usage, I choose to not let my computing devices hide stuff from me, so that .folder thingy doesn't work for me (and pictures in those .folders without a .nomedia file still seem to make their way into my gallery).
I do have a .stuff folder for my .porn though... Keeps it up near the top of the list...

how about the hideitpro app from the market? it's actually pretty cool. opens up as an audio manager, then you put in a password and there you have all the hidden files you want. not just pics...just an fyi

Install the app Just Pictures and ignore the folders you don't want to see.
The .nomedia "solution" prevents the album art to display in the media players.

I use the app QuickPic from the Market, and in the app you can choose which folders you want include and exclude. Pretty useful. You don't have the pretty 3-D effects from the default Gallery app but it's so much faster.

You can do the same thing with Fishbowl Gallery. You can set default albums, as well as hide albums. However, this still doesn't prevent someone from stumbling upon the default gallery app. The best solutions are either .nomedia, or do not have media on your phone that you do not want prying eyes to see. Alternatively, while cumbersome, you can use androzip or unrar pro to zip the material in question. Of course, by zipping your files, you can add the additional layer of security by encrypting it, if you're the paranoid sort.
Sent via Tapatalk on CM7.0.0-Vision Stable.

I remember this method. Any one know if the older file deletion ever got fixed with 2.2.1 or later?
If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick rundown.
You put the .nomedia file in a folder with pictures, upon reboot all those pictures are deleted. This had something to do with them already being scanned once and them being older than the .nomedia file so instead of ignoring them it deletes them. Something along those lines (anyone have the link to the original bug report from back in '08 or '09?).
Anyway, if it hasn't been fixed you've been warned, you stand a good chance of losing all media in those folders. So backup those files - but you knew that already
The easiest remedy to this is to remove the files, rename the folder to .whatever or insert the .nomedia file. Reboot. Then throw the files back onto the sdcard. That should eliminate any issues.

I've used the .nomedia solution awhile back to get icons, cover art, etc out of my gallery and it worked just fine... nothing was deleted (Droid X).
IIRC, I did have to clear the gallery app's cache to get it to "forget" about media that it had already found; on first lauch after clearing it's cache, expect it to be slow as it re-scans your device / sd card (..rebooting didn't work to clear the cach on my device... had to clear it via settings > application > manage apps..)

.nomedia file solution works
KCRic said:
I remember this method. Any one know if the older file deletion ever got fixed with 2.2.1 or later?
If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick rundown.
You put the .nomedia file in a folder with pictures, upon reboot all those pictures are deleted. This had something to do with them already being scanned once and them being older than the .nomedia file so instead of ignoring them it deletes them. Something along those lines (anyone have the link to the original bug report from back in '08 or '09?).
Anyway, if it hasn't been fixed you've been warned, you stand a good chance of losing all media in those folders. So backup those files - but you knew that already
The easiest remedy to this is to remove the files, rename the folder to .whatever or insert the file. Reboot. Then throw the files back onto the sdcard. That should eliminate any issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The .nomedia file solution works fine for me on Android 2.3.3.
The issue you mentioned is therefore fixed (nothing file was deleted unexpectedly).
Reboot was also necessary so that the native photo gallery app does not display the icons/pics any longer for the folders where I added the .nomedia file.
Furthermore, this works also for the music files.
(I use also TapeMachine app, and wanted to avoid that the sounds I recorded are listed in the Music Player).

If I place a .nomedia file in a directory, does that exclude all of its subdirectories from the gallery, as well?

Yes, it does. I just placed a .nomedia file in my /Music folder on my extsdcard and all the pictures in my albums are gone after a reboot.
UPDATE: I just tied this on my tablet (running 4.4.2) and it did not need a reboot. Gallery adjusted automatically. It was a folder on the extsdcard - and since 4.4.x restricts access to the sdcard, it stands to reason it saw the file placed and adjust the library automatically.
NiveusLuna said:
If I place a .nomedia file in a directory, does that exclude all of its subdirectories from the gallery, as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse