Does uninstalling updates to system apps wipe the data for it?

Question

Non-rooted users can't uninstall system apps but are able to uninstall updates to them such that they are reverted to the base version of the app that shipped with the system image.



When a user does this operation, does it clear the data for the app?



Context:
Newer versions of an app may write data incompatible with old versions of the app.


— arcyqwerty | Sources

Answer

Uninstalling updates to a system app does clear the data, tested by uninstalling a system app with data and observing the storage consumed by the data portion of the app go to 0.00B.



For reference, it also outputs intents broadcasting android.intent.action.PACKAGE_REMOVED just as if the entire app had been uninstalled as usual.


— arcyqwerty | Sources

Q & A

How to pick a phone for long usage?
Add Maps-URL to homescreen
Making a call Google Assistant by saying "Call Mom & Dad" shows "App is not installed."
Larger Lock-Screen PIN buttons?
Turn phone on with damaged power & volume button?
Can factory reset recover deleted built-in apps?
With Android, does a factory reset truly reset the device to the same as it was when it left the factory (unlike an iPhone)?
Android du and df very different: File System Corrupted?
Intermittent failure to receive SMS and MMS messages
Wi-Fi Verbose logging fields
Use scrcpy to connect to multiple smartphones
Termux write permissions
How to root Redmi 4X?
Frame stutters appear just when touching/swiping the screen on Android EMUI 8
How to encrypt deleted data on Android 10
Is it possible to change Android ID without root access nor factory reset?
Will the app still be on my old device?
How to avoid reformatting external sd card when "Issue with SD card" pops up again?
Google apps not working on mobile data, although non-Google apps are working
Does "How will you use this SD card?" wipe data?

Topics

2D Engines   3D Engines   9-Patch   Action Bars   Activities   ADB   Advertisements   Analytics   Animations   ANR   AOP   API   APK   APT   Architecture   Audio   Autocomplete   Background Processing   Backward Compatibility   Badges   Bar Codes   Benchmarking   Bitmaps   Bluetooth   Blur Effects   Bread Crumbs   BRMS   Browser Extensions   Build Systems   Bundles   Buttons   Caching   Camera   Canvas   Cards   Carousels   Changelog   Checkboxes   Cloud Storages   Color Analysis   Color Pickers   Colors   Comet/Push   Compass Sensors   Conferences   Content Providers   Continuous Integration   Crash Reports   Credit Cards   Credits   CSV   Curl/Flip   Data Binding   Data Generators   Data Structures   Database   Database Browsers   Date &   Debugging   Decompilers   Deep Links   Dependency Injections   Design   Design Patterns   Dex   Dialogs   Distributed Computing   Distribution Platforms   Download Managers   Drawables   Emoji   Emulators   EPUB   Equalizers &   Event Buses   Exception Handling   Face Recognition   Feedback &   File System   File/Directory   Fingerprint   Floating Action   Fonts   Forms   Fragments   FRP   FSM   Functional Programming   Gamepads   Games   Geocaching   Gestures   GIF   Glow Pad   Gradle Plugins   Graphics   Grid Views   Highlighting   HTML   HTTP Mocking   Icons   IDE   IDE Plugins   Image Croppers   Image Loaders   Image Pickers   Image Processing   Image Views   Instrumentation   Intents   Job Schedulers   JSON   Keyboard   Kotlin   Layouts   Library Demos   List View   List Views   Localization   Location   Lock Patterns   Logcat   Logging   Mails   Maps   Markdown   Mathematics   Maven Plugins   MBaaS   Media   Menus   Messaging   MIME   Mobile Web   Native Image   Navigation   NDK   Networking   NFC   NoSQL   Number Pickers   OAuth   Object Mocking   OCR Engines   OpenGL   ORM   Other Pickers   Parallax List   Parcelables   Particle Systems   Password Inputs   PDF   Permissions   Physics Engines   Platforms   Plugin Frameworks   Preferences   Progress Indicators   ProGuard   Properties   Protocol Buffer   Pull To   Purchases   Push/Pull   QR Codes   Quick Return   Radio Buttons   Range Bars   Ratings   Recycler Views   Resources   REST   Ripple Effects   RSS   Screenshots   Scripting   Scroll Views   SDK   Search Inputs   Security   Sensors   Services   Showcase Views   Signatures   Sliding Panels   Snackbars   SOAP   Social Networks   Spannable   Spinners   Splash Screens   SSH   Static Analysis   Status Bars   Styling   SVG   System   Tags   Task Managers   TDD &   Template Engines   Testing   Testing Tools   Text Formatting   Text Views   Text Watchers   Text-to   Toasts   Toolkits For   Tools   Tooltips   Trainings   TV   Twitter   Updaters   USB   User Stories   Utils   Validation   Video   View Adapters   View Pagers   Views   Watch Face   Wearable Data   Wearables   Weather   Web Tools   Web Views   WebRTC   WebSockets   Wheel Widgets   Wi-Fi   Widgets   Windows   Wizards   XML   XMPP   YAML   ZIP Codes