Can I block mobile data for everything except one specific app? - General Questions and Answers

Hiya,
My question is the title.
I am using a device with Android 8.0.0
I want to allow only one single specific app use of mobile data. Any other app and unnecessary process that does not help that app to do Internet working want to strictly block, no background data no nothing.
Is this possible? How do I do this? I need to make sure it is implemented as strictly as possible and that it works in real life.
Thanks!

Rob Rinder said:
Hiya,
My question is the title.
I am using a device with Android 8.0.0
I want to allow only one single specific app use of mobile data. Any other app and unnecessary process that does not help that app to do Internet working want to strictly block, no background data no nothing.
Is this possible? How do I do this? I need to make sure it is implemented as strictly as possible and that it works in real life.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure that is completely possible other than restricting background data and then, if you have root, using something like Greenify or a similar app to freeze the apps of your choice.
NOTE:
You will not be able to restrict data to the important system apps that are required for the device's basic function, such as Google Play Services and other apps that are deeply a part of the system. If you try cutting them off, your device will not function properly, it will cause system apps to constantly crash/force close and/or cause a bootloop the next time you boot your device.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
I'm not sure that is completely possible other than restricting background data and then, if you have root, using something like Greenify or a similar app to freeze the apps of your choice.
NOTE:
You will not be able to restrict data to the important system apps that are required for the device's basic function, such as Google Play Services and other apps that are deeply a part of the system. If you try cutting them off, your device will not function properly, it will cause system apps to constantly crash/force close and/or cause a bootloop the next time you boot your device.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for taking the time and effort to help me so far. I respect that.
By restricting background data, do you mean to turn on "Data Saver"?

Rob Rinder said:
Thank you for taking the time and effort to help me so far. I respect that.
By restricting background data, do you mean to turn on "Data Saver"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I mean, go to system settings>apps.
Then choose an app that you want to restrict, tap on that app on the list of applications in settings, then you should the app's info page with a list of options, tap on the one that says data usage, then you should see the option to restrict background data for that app.
You'll have to do that for each app that you want to restrict.
But, the "restrict background data" setting does not completely block it from using data, that's why I suggested that your device be rooted so you can use something like Greenify to freeze your apps, then they won't even be running, which means they won't use any data while frozen.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
No, I mean, go to system settings>apps.
Then choose an app that you want to restrict, tap on that app on the list of applications in settings, then you should the app's info page with a list of options, tap on the one that says data usage, then you should see the option to restrict background data for that app.
You'll have to do that for each app that you want to restrict.
But, the "restrict background data" setting does not completely block it from using data, that's why I suggested that your device be rooted so you can use something like Greenify to freeze your apps, then they won't even be running, which means they won't use any data while frozen.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using Greenify without root.
Is there any advantage(s) to using Greenify with root?
Thanks again.

Rob Rinder said:
I have been using Greenify without root.
Is there any advantage to using Greenify with root?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it can do much more with root, honestly, it's almost pointless to use Greenify without root. It was built for the purpose of using root.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Related

How can I disable apps from autorunning instead of constantly killing them?

Can I disable qwikvid, market, and all the otherstuff that seems to run on its own without having to constantly go into a task manager to kill those apps?
Depends on app, if system doesn't use it, use titanium backup to freeze it.
I think this should be in the Q&A section. But answering your question, I don't think there's a way to stop an app from running randomly, except in events such as boot. You may wanna check out the app called Autostart in the market. You should keep in mind though that task killers do more harm than good. Android's memory management on 2.3 and up is very efficient.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
I wouldn't recommend AutoStarts, never worked for me.
Anyways, to answer your question, there should be settings within those apps to disable them from auto-running. If there isn't and the app is misbehaving you can either determine if you want to keep the app, and freeze it, or uninstall it.
As far as I know, market will autorun if you have apps set to update automatically, or if you have background data enabled it will run to check for updates. Haven't figured out how to stop that one yet.
And I don't personally use qwikvid, but isn't that the wifi calling app? If so, it's probably autorunning to make sure your phone is available to handle calls, probably used as a push notification type thing.
donatello88 said:
I think this should be in the Q&A section. But answering your question, I don't think there's a way to stop an app from running randomly, except in events such as boot. You may wanna check out the app called Autostart in the market. You should keep in mind though that task killers do more harm than good. Android's memory management on 2.3 and up is very efficient.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So am I to assume that freezing those apps wont give me any tangible benefit?
DerangedGoose said:
So am I to assume that freezing those apps wont give me any tangible benefit?
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Click to collapse
Depends. If you want to use those apps, than freezing will sort of uninstall them (it actually sort of deactivates them). They are unusable once frozen and can only be used again if you unfreeze them. This is used usually for apps that come pre installed on the phone that you are not gonna use.
I don't think there's a way to stop an app from randomly starting. It's just how it works on Android. I wouldn't worry about this too much. As I said, Google has done a good job on memory management.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
You can revoke start on boot permissions for the app if you're on cm 7. That should do the trick.

is there an app for supervising other apps

i need an app to supervise other apps
i need it to
tell me what apps is using the internet and to stop the ones i choose
the process running in the back without the system processes
also to save a log for the apps and what they are doing.
plz if someone knows an app that can do this or different apps
help me.
I use Onavo for the monitoring, you can restrict apps to wifi easily & it'll tell you which apps are potential data hogs. I find it easier to navigate than the ICS built in data monitor
You can also tell it your data limit & it'll give you usage info & awarning when you're near your limit
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Droidwall can block specific apps from using wifi or 3g.
Sent from my GT-I9100
I use onavo, it alerts you to the apps that consume more data. and if you want to control the use of the apps battery, Badass battery.
Avast Mobile Security
Which Doubles As A Capable Antivirus Too
Now Thank You In Advance For You Thanking Me
LBE Privacy Guard. So many possibilites to control your apps premissions, that you will be able to supervise any event that apps are trying to run it in backround. Sending sms by apps, reading contact list,using gps localisation... many many more. You can also set profiles for apps (disable 3g but let enable wifi for your app for example, or reject/accept both. It's short discripition what can this app do. Check more at dev page. Must have for rooted. And Free.
Sent from my GT-I9100(Ics Turkbey rom v9) using xda premium

The one feature iOS has that I wish Android had..

Is the ability to manage app-specific privacy permissions--you can turn off an app's ability to query your location. I hate seeing the GPS reticle kick on when I open Facebook, but I don't have any choice but to agree to the permissions when I download the app. I know pdroid works, but this shoud be OS-level.
tekhna said:
Is the ability to manage app-specific privacy permissions--you can turn off an app's ability to query your location. I hate seeing the GPS reticle kick on when I open Facebook, but I don't have any choice but to agree to the permissions when I download the app. I know pdroid works, but this shoud be OS-level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you could disable location settings in all the apps you dont want to have location used in? unless im misunderstanding you?
i do taht with all my apps including facebook.
the only time my GPS is turned on is for when i use navigation.
..
ddurandSGS3 said:
you could disable location settings in all the apps you dont want to have location used in? unless im misunderstanding you?
i do taht with all my apps including facebook.
the only time my GPS is turned on is for when i use navigation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless I've fundamentally missed some aspect of Android, if you grant an app permission to use your location when you install it, there is no way subsequently to prevent it from using your location without turning off location access entirely. iOS allows you to install an app that wants to use your location, but then deny it access.
tekhna said:
Unless I've fundamentally missed some aspect of Android, if you grant an app permission to use your location when you install it, there is no way subsequently to prevent it from using your location without turning off location access entirely. iOS allows you to install an app that wants to use your location, but then deny it access.
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Click to collapse
it mightve read that way, but i wasnt being condescending or anything. I hope you didnt take it that way!
was just saying, i dont have GPS turn on for any app that I use except for navigation. I turn it off in settings and in the apps when requested or when i see it in settings.
does it still track in that case? I never see the icon.
tekhna said:
Is the ability to manage app-specific privacy permissions--you can turn off an app's ability to query your location. I hate seeing the GPS reticle kick on when I open Facebook, but I don't have any choice but to agree to the permissions when I download the app. I know pdroid works, but this shoud be OS-level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install a ROM with PDroid
tekhna said:
Is the ability to manage app-specific privacy permissions--you can turn off an app's ability to query your location. I hate seeing the GPS reticle kick on when I open Facebook, but I don't have any choice but to agree to the permissions when I download the app. I know pdroid works, but this shoud be OS-level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pdroid.... Get synergy..
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Did people just miss the part where I said pdroid is cool and all, but it should be integrated into the OS?
tekhna said:
Did people just miss the part where I said pdroid is cool and all, but it should be integrated into the OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd doesn't matter what you have installed on android or iOS. Your location is always being tracked by WiFi or you data coverage. Unless you have your phone in airplane mode or turned off you will never have true privacy.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
tekhna said:
Did people just miss the part where I said pdroid is cool and all, but it should be integrated into the OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pdroid is not just an app. it has to be integrated into the actual framework of the os. therefore I don't understand how it didn't fulfill your request.
corbn89 said:
pdroid is not just an app. it has to be integrated into the actual framework of the os. therefore I don't understand how it didn't fulfill your request.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he is saying is the he should not have to root and install a custom ROM with pdroid to be able to do this. His point was that it should be built in to STOCK android.
z06mike said:
What he is saying is the he should not have to root and install a custom ROM with pdroid to be able to do this. His point was that it should be built in to STOCK android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah I see. that case is unlikely then. Google is pretty much king at mining data for advertising profit and I don't think they would do anything to restrict that unless forced by law.
also, unless you have a nexus phone, every " stock" android is actually already a custom Rom created by the phone manufacturer. some manufacturers make it harder to install privacy protection measures than others. that's unfortunately one of the downsides of open source.
Miui let's you handle each app independently... there is also a mod to I stall the LBE guard instead of supersu on any ROM and you can monitor each app independently. Search for the MIUI superuser app
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Why do you not have this posted in Q&A.
I would assume you could find answers there instead of just complaining about it here.
Sent from club Clean Rom

[Q] MotoCare app data keeps growing

After I saw that the data generated by the MotoCare app was very large, I decided to clear this data (through settings>apps).
In Motorola Privacy settings I have disabled MotoCare.
Two weeks have passed now and again my MotoCare data has grown substantial, being at 11,62Mb now.
Does anybode else also have this growing data of MotoCare?
What is this app collecting even if it is turned off?
I completely disabled motocare app and stuff, you can do the same in easy way. For me it's an unuseful service and i completely disabled. You need it?
This is unfortunatelly one of the Moto apps that I can not disable.
Other apps I disabled but for this one the button is grayed out.
How did you disabled this one?
I used Titanium Backup
Thanks, will try that as well.
But will it be disabled or did you remove it ?
I don't want to remove any system apps so I prefer to only disable it.
No man, i only disabled them, not remove, better keep them there for sure. Oh ehm, make always a backup before you touch something in system partition
Mickeyvdb said:
Thanks, will try that as well.
But will it be disabled or did you remove it ?
I don't want to remove any system apps so I prefer to only disable it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted?
If yes - you can use Unninstaller Pro. It has "Freeze" function per app.
App won`t work, but it won`t be uninstalled either and you can unfreeze it in any moment.
Cheers.
Yes, my MotoG is rooted.
I will give it a try.
Thanks.
I think that Titanium Backup is really better
Since the freeze option is only available in the pro version of Titanium, I tried another app.
App Quarantaine is doing the job very well so far.
I also read something about Greenify, is this recommended above the others?
Sent from my GT-P3110 using xda app-developers app

[APP][Root][7.0+]RunInBackgroundSetter v1.4 :: [25.07.2017]

Few hours ago @explainAndroid posted article on xda main page onto how to use android's hidden RUN_IN_BACKGROUND permission to restrict app's background behavior. I made an app for that.
Here's link to original article: https://www.xda-developers.com/freeze-app-background-processes-without-root-android-nougat/
Here's link to app's github: https://github.com/MrBIMC/RunInBackgroundPermissionSetter
Here's link to reddit thread about app: https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/co...en_run_in_background/?st=j570s1rf&sh=675cc4d6
Here's link to xda labs: https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.pavelsikun.runinbackgroundpermissionsetter
Omg it created multiple threads. Sorry. Trying to remove duplicates now.
Submit this to XDA Labs as well! Don't worry about a crappy icon or whatever. I've made apps in Tasker and have posted them to Labs hehe. As long as people find it useful feel free to submit!
@MrBIMC
Thanks for the app!!
Is possible add hours of the days of week when selected apps run or doent run in background?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Nice app!
Will charging disable this?
Can u make the app work without rooting, just using adb, where the permission through adb for this app is granted once and then it can be used to limit background permission of other apps
excellent mate.
we should post a tutorial... not everyone will understand the potential ramifications of disabling everything
I will try to test this out! Though, I kinda like the old icon compared to the new one, it seems like it's not properly cropped. Additionally, could you add an option to show system and user apps only? Maybe a toggle to ignore apps all at once or vice versa too?
No chance for Marshmallow?
Does this have the same functionality as in lineage os ROMs app ops where you can disable background processes?
As someone is undoubtedly going to ask it, I'll ask it for them. How does this differentiate to apps like greenify @MrBIMC? Do they both limit background processes? Anyways, the all looks very interesting, thanks!
This looks great!
Do the settings stick after reboot?
arjuntsgowda said:
Can u make the app work without rooting, just using adb, where the permission through adb for this app is granted once and then it can be used to limit background permission of other apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
From the Github page:
Anyway, this app is for those who don't want to mess with adb shell and input commands manually and prefer to just click on app name to enable/disable it from running in the background. Sadly, android apps are not allowed to implicitly edit permissions of other apps, so this application requires root to overcome it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Al Gore said:
No chance for Marshmallow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
From the Github page:
Anyway, this app is for those, who don't want to mess with adb shell and input commands manually and prefer to just click on app name to enable/disable it from running in the background. Sadly, android apps are not allowed to implicitely edit permissions of other apps, so this application requires root to overcome it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jordirpz said:
@MrBIMC
Thanks for the app!!
Is possible add hours of the days of week when selected apps run or doent run in background?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be really cool. Best way to implement that I think would be to add Tasker plugin functionality to the app to allow Tasker flows to toggle the permission, which would have the benefit of being able to change it for any reason (such as low battery).
DEVILOPS 007 said:
As someone is undoubtedly going to ask it, I'll ask it for them. How does this differentiate to apps like greenify @MrBIMC? Do they both limit background processes? Anyways, the all looks very interesting, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I understand both correctly... Greenify forces apps to hibernate when you turn your screen off (or manually tell it to), but the app can still wake itself back up for a variety of reasons, such as receiving push notifications, location updates, or any other unnecessary reason like Facebook, lol. This app overrides a hidden permission in Android 7+ that tells the system to not allow the app to run in the background, which means it will not be able to wake itself up.
hassan_1000 said:
Does this have the same functionality as in lineage os ROMs app ops where you can disable background processes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
according to the reddit comments its the same. but maybe the Developer can confirm this
xdauser7 said:
according to the reddit comments its the same. but maybe the Developer can confirm this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am Developer. Can confirm, toggle "limit background activity" in LOS14 is the same as this app. At least that's what reddit tells me as I haven't checked myself.
Wow. Looks promising. I was too lazy to run ADB manually xD
So lets see if I can screw something up with disabling almost everything
MishaalRahman said:
Submit this to XDA Labs as well! Don't worry about a crappy icon or whatever. I've made apps in Tasker and have posted them to Labs hehe. As long as people find it useful feel free to submit!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto
neonixxx said:
This would be really cool. Best way to implement that I think would be to add Tasker plugin functionality to the app to allow Tasker flows to toggle the permission, which would have the benefit of being able to change it for any reason (such as low battery).
If I understand both correctly... Greenify forces apps to hibernate when you turn your screen off (or manually tell it to), but the app can still wake itself back up for a variety of reasons, such as receiving push notifications, location updates, or any other unnecessary reason like Facebook, lol. This app overrides a hidden permission in Android 7+ that tells the system to not allow the app to run in the background, which means it will not be able to wake itself up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, makes sense about Greenify... do you or anyone know the difference between this and Brevent?
dimm0k said:
thanks, makes sense about Greenify... do you or anyone know the difference between this and Brevent?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually tried Brevent for the first time a few weeks ago. According to the app itself, aside from not requiring root, it's supposed to monitor when you hit the back button or remove an app from recents, and then actually kill the app process when you do, despite if the app has some background process that it intended to keep running. Basically lets you manually control when an app is killed in a quick and intuitive way, but for me personally, it didn't seem to work as expected for some reason; background processes seemed to keep running after.
Also Brevent, being a non-root solution requires you to connect the device to a PC and run some ADB commands to give it permission every time you reboot. It has an experimental root mode that doesn't require this.

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