Folder named Android on sd card

[meadnroid2]

Whne formatting a newly created external media the directory called "Android" appears. this directory has sub directories such as my podcast republic and Twitter app which I have no storage permissions. If I remove the directory called "Android" everythig works but the directory will occasionally get recreated.

This has got to be malware as none of the directories are required on the external media and already exist on the main storage. Why is this "Android" directory being created on my external devices ?

 

[lunatic59]

It's not malware, it's part of the system in that apps that are accessing the volume may require a temp folder or minor data files and Android is designed to put that sort of thing in an Android folder on the volume being accessed. If you delete the folder, the next time an app needs to store a temp file there it gets recreated. It shouldn't take up enough room to impact your storage, so it's best just to leave it alone.

 

[Dannydet]

Nothing out of the ordinary, read up here...
https://appsburner.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-happens-if-i-delete-android-folder.html?m=1

 

[Dannydet]

Damn! Ninjad by lanatic59!

 

[meadnroid2]

It's not malware, it's part of the system in that apps that are accessing the volume may require a temp folder or minor data files and Android is designed to put that sort of thing in an Android folder on the volume being accessed. If you delete the folder, the next time an app needs to store a temp file there it gets recreated. It shouldn't take up enough room to impact your storage, so it's best just to leave it alone.

I disagree. The SD-card can be removed at anytime so there cannot be any dependancies on the "Android" folder second I specifically changed the permissions to deny storage use yet a folder for the app is created.

What is using this "Android" folder if the applications are not allowed to access storage? What is creating it ?

 

[Davdi]

@lunatic59 is correct. My phone's SD card has an Android folder with a 'data' sub-folder which contains sub folders for a number of apps (System and ones I've installed. The on lt reason yours is empty is that nothing has needed TEMPORARY storage yet.
It's on the SD card to save space in internal storage as it's transient data, and Android is not bothered if it gets deleted. On phones with no SD card slot and a large internal storage, this data will be held in internal storage. I'd think that using an SD card in this way goes back to when phones had much smaller internal storage that they do now.

 

[lunatic59]

What is using this "Android" folder if the applications are not allowed to access storage? What is creating it ?

The system is doing it. System has root privileges and you don't, so it's going to be impossible for you to block individual apps from recreating the folders on your SD card.

 

[meadnroid2]

@lunatic59 is correct. My phone's SD card has an Android folder with a 'data' sub-folder which contains sub folders for a number of apps (System and ones I've installed. The on lt reason yours is empty is that nothing has needed TEMPORARY storage yet.
It's on the SD card to save space in internal storage as it's transient data, and Android is not bothered if it gets deleted. On phones with no SD card slot and a large internal storage, this data will be held in internal storage. I'd think that using an SD card in this way goes back to when phones had much smaller internal storage that they do now.

What is the O.S. doing when the Sd-card is removed ? Why does this occur on any newly formatted media which may only be attached to the phone for a short period? This is not efficient use media and for security permission to access the media should always be asked.

 

[Davdi]

As it's inly for temp file storage, the OS doesn't care, and will use internal storage until an SD card is re-inserted. It will always happen with a newly formatted SD card, it's just what Android does

 

[lunatic59]

If the system asked for permission every time it accessed storage, either internal or external, you'd spend all day approving prompts. Having the system manage app permissions is much more efficient than a user trying to do it.

When an SD card is removed, the volume is unmounted and the mount point removed. Android then finds a different volume for temp files and will create them there. Now, keep in mind that the temp files on the internal storage volume will be different than those on the removable media so that if you reinsert the sd card and the volume reappears, the system/apps that access it won't get hung up trying to access both.

FWIW this happens on Windows, Macs and Linux machines as well, you just don't see the hidden system files written at the time the volume is attached to the OS. The difference is that Android (and IOS) generally are not considered browseable file systems so it isn't necessary to hide these directories.

 

[meadnroid2]

I have noticed that all the files on the sd-card under the Android directory do not have any files just the name of the folder. This is the same for every folder.

Cap2

• meadnroid2
• Sep 18, 2020

Cap1

• meadnroid2
• Sep 18, 2020

All the directories are the same. this suggest a problem with the operating system or application as there is no purpose in placing only directories other than to place the names of the application that are installed on another media.

 

[mikedt]

I have noticed that all the files on the sd-card under the Android directory do not have any files just the name of the folder. This is the same for every folder.

Cap2

• meadnroid2
• Sep 18, 2020

Cap1

• meadnroid2
• Sep 18, 2020

All the directories are the same. this suggest a problem with the operating system or application as there is no purpose in placing only directories other than to place the names of the application that are installed on another media.

Yeh, it looks like Android "housekeeping" directories and files. Nothing unusual here. MacOS and Windows does the same with removable media, although their naming and files will be different of course.

 

[meadnroid2]

I have noticed that all the files on the sd-card under the Android directory do not have any files just the name of the folder. This is the same for every folder.

Cap2

• meadnroid2
• Sep 18, 2020

Cap1

• meadnroid2
• Sep 18, 2020

All the directories are the same. this suggest a problem with the operating system or application as there is no purpose in placing only directories other than to place the names of the application that are installed on another media.

Yeh, it looks like Android "housekeeping" directories and files. Nothing unusual here. MacOS and Windows does the same with removable media, although their naming and files will be different of course.

I think it is malware because when I reported this on Android central forum they removed the entry and banned my account. The issue is that Android is performing this issue or an application. As for Mac OS or Windows they only create files hidden for house keeping of the files like trash can. But this Android directory when deleted recreates these directories after a period continuously.

 

[Dannydet]

Your thinking is unfounded at best.
There is no malware, period.
The folders that are recreated on any external sd card are "emulated storage", that's the norm for Android OS I'm afraid.
Take it or leave it.
Again, there is no malware, just folders that Android creates.
Stop whipping a dead horse already.

 

[meadnroid2]

Your thinking is unfounded at best.
There is no malware, period.
The folders that are recreated on any external sd card are "emulated storage", that's the norm for Android OS I'm afraid.
Take it or leave it.
Again, there is no malware, just folders that Android creates.
Stop whipping a dead horse already.

Here is a video showing how none of directories have any files, just directories and when I delete the "Android" directory it recreates the directories slowly creating each directory.

 

[lunatic59]

As explained before, these directories are for temp files which by definition get deleted when they are no longer needed.

 

[kate]

I think it is malware

No it's not, as others have said this is expected behavior.

Do you want to prevent the Android folder from being created?

Delete the Android folder on the SD card, then create a file named "Android" with no extension. If the SD card is formatted as FAT32 this will prevent your phone from creating the Android folder, it might work with other file formats but I've only tried FAT32.

 

[meadnroid2]

No it's not, as others have said this is expected behavior.

Do you want to prevent the Android folder from being created?

Delete the Android folder on the SD card, then create a file named "Android" with no extension. If the SD card is formatted as FAT32 this will prevent your phone from creating the Android folder, it might work with other file formats but I've only tried FAT32.

If this isn't malware then it is ineffeicient use of creating only data on a Sd card as no files are installed just folders. My questions is if it isn't malware what purpose does it serve, what is it doing?

 

[lunatic59]

As explained before, it's a hierarchical folder used to organize temporary and/or config files specific to apps that have permission to access removable storage. It's remarkably simple and efficient. The only time it becomes cumbersome is when someone starts to alter it outside of it's intended use.

Digital storage on any platform is complex and must be managed both at the hardware level and in the operating system. It's not like a bucket that you can fill with water and then dump out when you're done.

 

[mikedt]

As explained before, it's a hierarchical folder used to organize temporary and/or config files specific to apps that have permission to access removable storage. It's remarkably simple and efficient. The only time it becomes cumbersome is when someone starts to alter it outside of it's intended use.

Digital storage on any platform is complex and must be managed both at the hardware level and in the operating system. It's not like a bucket that you can fill with water and then dump out when you're done.

And digital storage is not like a series of tubes either. That's the Internet.

 

[meadnroid2]

As explained before, it's a hierarchical folder used to organize temporary and/or config files specific to apps that have permission to access removable storage. It's remarkably simple and efficient. The only time it becomes cumbersome is when someone starts to alter it outside of it's intended use.

Digital storage on any platform is complex and must be managed both at the hardware level and in the operating system. It's not like a bucket that you can fill with water and then dump out when you're done.

As I explained already it is not used for organization as I removed the folder several times and the sd card can be removed. This is malware or at best a flaw in the operating system .

 

[lunatic59]

Maybe this will help you understand.

https://appsburner.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-happens-if-i-delete-android-folder.html

 

[Alexenferman]

The Android folder is completely normal. It keeps cache data which makes the app open more quickly, since it already has those temporary files. Removing the media or deleting the Android folder will not break anything, and Android and the app itself will continue creating cache data on the internal storage and SD card. It is not a virus. It's a bit like the appdata folder on Windows located in C:\Users\[USER], just that it's hidden to the user, and can be shown by enabling an option in file explorer.

 

[svim]

Every operating system, be it Windows, Unix, Android, iOS, whatever, will typically create files and folders that are going to be used for countless reasons pertaining to how they function. To you this may appear to be mystery items and caused by malware of some sort. To the programmers and software developers, what you see as extraneous is just part of how things work. Your phone may not look like its doing anything at all when you're just staring at the screen but as long as it's powered on there are always numerous processes actively running in the background.

 

[androidnote]

This is definitely malware.
1) When this issue was brought up in android central forum they removed the item. Try opening a forum with androidcentral stating "Android directory appears on external media"
2) The directories on the external media have no files only directories. If you remove the Android folder from the external media nothing is affected and the directory will re appear.
3) Nothing should access your external media without your permission. the fact that the external media can be removed should tell you this is malware. Where would files be placed if the external media is removed?

directory video