Overview of shared storage
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Use shared storage for user data that can or should be accessible to other apps
and saved even if the user uninstalls your app.
Android provides APIs for storing and accessing the following types of shareable
data:
- Media content: The system provides standard public directories for these
kinds of files, so the user has a common location for all their photos, another
common location for all their music and audio files, and so on. Your app can
access this content using the platform's
MediaStore API.
- Documents and other files: The system has a special directory for
containing other file types, such as PDF documents and books that use the EPUB
format. Your app can access these files using the platform's Storage Access
Framework.
- Datasets: On Android 11 (API level 30) and higher, the system caches
large datasets that multiple apps might use. These datasets can support use
cases like machine learning and media playback. Apps can access these shared
datasets using the
BlobStoreManager API.
For more information about these APIs, see the following guides:
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Last updated 2025-02-10 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-02-10 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Overview of shared storage\n\nUse shared storage for user data that can or should be accessible to other apps\nand saved even if the user uninstalls your app.\n\nAndroid provides APIs for storing and accessing the following types of shareable\ndata:\n\n- **Media content:** The system provides standard public directories for these kinds of files, so the user has a common location for all their photos, another common location for all their music and audio files, and so on. Your app can access this content using the platform's [`MediaStore`](/reference/android/provider/MediaStore) API.\n- **Documents and other files:** The system has a special directory for containing other file types, such as PDF documents and books that use the EPUB format. Your app can access these files using the platform's Storage Access Framework.\n- **Datasets:** On Android 11 (API level 30) and higher, the system caches large datasets that multiple apps might use. These datasets can support use cases like machine learning and media playback. Apps can access these shared datasets using the [`BlobStoreManager`](/reference/android/app/blob/BlobStoreManager) API.\n\nFor more information about these APIs, see the following guides:\n\n- [Media content](/training/data-storage/shared/media)\n- [Documents and other files](/training/data-storage/shared/documents-files)\n- [Datasets](/training/data-storage/shared/datasets)"]]
