Admin Wabpage
Admin Wabpage
Device admin deprecation. Starting with Android 9 (API level 28), some admin policies will be marked as
deprecated when invoked by a device admin. We recommend you start to prepare now for this change. To
learn more and see the migration options, read Device admin deprecation
(https://developers.google.com/android/work/device-admin-deprecation).
Android includes support for enterprise apps by offering the Android Device Administration
API. The Device Administration API provides device administration features at the system
level. These APIs allow you to create security-aware apps that are useful in enterprise settings,
in which IT professionals require rich control over employee devices. For example, the built-in
Android Email app has leveraged these APIs to improve Exchange support. Through the Email
app, Exchange administrators can enforce password policies — including alphanumeric
passwords or numeric PINs — across devices. Administrators can also remotely wipe (that is,
restore factory defaults on) lost or stolen handsets. Exchange users can sync their email and
calendar data.
This document is intended for developers who want to develop enterprise solutions for
Android-powered devices. It discusses the various features provided by the Device
Administration API to provide stronger security for employee devices that are powered by
Android.
Note For information on building a Work Policy Controller for Android for Work deployments, see Build a
Device Policy Controller (/work/dpc/build-dpc).
Email clients.
You use the Device Administration API to write device admin apps that users install on their
devices. The device admin app enforces the desired policies. Here's how it works:
A system administrator writes a device admin app that enforces remote/local device
security policies. These policies could be hard-coded into the app, or the app could
dynamically fetch policies from a third-party server.
The app is installed on users' devices. Android does not currently have an automated
provisioning solution. Some of the ways a sysadmin might distribute the app to users are
as follows:
Google Play.
The system prompts the user to enable the device admin app. How and when this
happens depends on how the app is implemented.
Once users enable the device admin app, they are subject to its policies. Complying with
those policies typically confers benefits, such as access to sensitive systems and data.
If users do not enable the device admin app, it remains on the device, but in an inactive state.
Users will not be subject to its policies, and they will conversely not get any of the app's
benefits—for example, they may not be able to sync data.
If a user fails to comply with the policies (for example, if a user sets a password that violates
the guidelines), it is up to the app to decide how to handle this. However, typically this will
result in the user not being able to sync data.
If a device attempts to connect to a server that requires policies not supported in the Device
Administration API, the connection will not be allowed. The Device Administration API does not
currently allow partial provisioning. In other words, if a device (for example, a legacy device)
does not support all of the stated policies, there is no way to allow the device to connect.
If a device contains multiple enabled admin apps, the strictest policy is enforced. There is no
way to target a particular admin app.
To uninstall an existing device admin app, users need to first unregister the app as an
administrator.
Policies
In an enterprise setting, it's often the case that employee devices must adhere to a strict set of
policies that govern the use of the device. The Device Administration API supports the policies
listed in Table 1. Note that the Device Administration API currently only supports passwords
for screen lock:
Policy Description
Minimum Set the required number of characters for the password. For example, you can require PIN or pa
password characters.
length
Alphanumeric Requires that passwords have a combination of letters and numbers. They may include symbo
password
required
Complex Requires that passwords must contain at least a letter, a numerical digit, and a special symbol.
password
required
Minimum The minimum number of letters required in the password for all admins or a particular one. Intr
letters
required in
password
Minimum The minimum number of lowercase letters required in the password for all admins or a particul
lowercase Android 3.0.
letters
required in
password
Minimum The minimum number of non-letter characters required in the password for all admins or a part
non-letter Android 3.0.
characters
required in
password
Minimum The minimum number of numerical digits required in the password for all admins or a particula
numerical 3.0.
digits
required in
password
Minimum The minimum number of symbols required in the password for all admins or a particular one. In
symbols
required in
password
Minimum The minimum number of uppercase letters required in the password for all admins or a particu
uppercase Android 3.0.
letters
required in
password
Password When the password will expire, expressed as a delta in milliseconds from when a device admin
expiration Introduced in Android 3.0.
timeout
Password This policy prevents users from reusing the last n unique passwords. This policy is typically use
history setPasswordExpirationTimeout()
restriction (/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordExpirationTimeout(androi
long))
, which forces users to update their passwords after a specified amount of time has elapsed. In
Maximum Specifies how many times a user can enter the wrong password before the device wipes its dat
failed Administration API also allows administrators to remotely reset the device to factory defaults. T
password the device is lost or stolen.
attempts
Maximum Sets the length of time since the user last touched the screen or pressed a button before the de
inactivity timethis happens, users need to enter their PIN or passwords again before they can use their device
lock value can be between 1 and 60 minutes.
Require Specifies that the storage area should be encrypted, if the device supports it. Introduced in And
storage
encryption
Disable Specifies that the camera should be disabled. Note that this doesn't have to be a permanent dis
camera enabled/disabled dynamically based on context, time, and so on. Introduced in Android 4.0.
Other features
In addition to supporting the policies listed in the above table, the Device Administration API
lets you do the following:
Wipe the device's data (that is, restore the device to its factory defaults).
Sample app
The examples used in this document are based on the Device Administration API sample,
which is included in the SDK samples (available through the Android SDK Manager) and
located on your system as
<sdk_root>/ApiDemos/app/src/main/java/com/example/android/apis/app/DeviceAdmi
nSample.java .
The sample app offers a demo of device admin features. It presents users with a user
interface that lets them enable the device admin app. Once they've enabled the app, they can
use the buttons in the user interface to do the following:
Specify requirements for the user's password, such as minimum length, the minimum
number of numeric characters it must contain, and so on.
Set the password. If the password does not conform to the specified policies, the system
returns an error.
Set how many failed password attempts can occur before the device is wiped (that is,
restored to factory settings).
Set the password history length (length refers to number of old passwords stored in the
history). This prevents users from reusing one of the last n passwords they previously
used.
Specify that the storage area should be encrypted, if the device supports it.
Set the maximum amount of inactive time that can elapse before the device locks.
To use the Device Administration API, the app's manifest must include the following:
<activity android:name=".app.DeviceAdminSample"
android:label="@string/activity_sample_device_admin">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.SAMPLE_CODE" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<receiver android:name=".app.DeviceAdminSample$DeviceAdminSampleReceiver"
android:label="@string/sample_device_admin"
android:description="@string/sample_device_admin_description"
android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN">
<meta-data android:name="android.app.device_admin"
android:resource="@xml/device_admin_sample" />
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.app.action.DEVICE_ADMIN_ENABLED" />
</intent-filter>
</receiver>
Note that:
The following attributes refer to string resources that for the sample app reside in
ApiDemos/res/values/strings.xml . For more information about resources, see
Application Resources (/guide/topics/resources).
android:description="@string/sample_device_admin_description" refers
to the user-readable description of the permission. A descripton is typically longer
and more informative than a label.
android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN" is a permission
that a DeviceAdminReceiver (/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver) subclass
must have, to ensure that only the system can interact with the receiver (no app can be
granted this permission). This prevents other apps from abusing your device admin app.
When a user enables the device admin app, that gives the receiver permission to perform
actions in response to the broadcast of particular system events. When suitable event
arises, the app can impose a policy. For example, if the user attempts to set a new
password that doesn't meet the policy requirements, the app can prompt the user to pick
a different password that does meet the requirements.
Avoid changing the receiver name after publishing your app. If the name in the manifest
changes, device admin is disabled when users update the app. To learn more, see
<receiver> (/guide/topics/manifest/receiver-element#nm).
android:resource="@xml/device_admin_sample" declares the security policies used
in metadata. The metadata provides additional information specific to the device
administrator, as parsed by the DeviceAdminInfo
(/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminInfo) class. Here are the contents of
device_admin_sample.xml :
<device-admin xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<uses-policies>
<limit-password />
<watch-login />
<reset-password />
<force-lock />
<wipe-data />
<expire-password />
<encrypted-storage />
<disable-camera />
</uses-policies>
</device-admin>
When designing your device administration app, you don't need to include all of the policies,
just the ones that are relevant for your app.
For more discussion of the manifest file, see the Android Developers Guide
(/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro).
DeviceAdminReceiver (/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver)
Base class for implementing a device administration component. This class provides a
convenience for interpreting the raw intent actions that are sent by the system. Your
Device Administration app must include a DeviceAdminReceiver
(/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver) subclass.
DevicePolicyManager (/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager)
A class for managing policies enforced on a device. Most clients of this class must have
published a DeviceAdminReceiver (/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver) that
the user has currently enabled. The DevicePolicyManager
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager) manages policies for one or more
DeviceAdminReceiver (/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver) instances
DeviceAdminInfo (/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminInfo)
These classes provide the foundation for a fully functional device administration app. The rest
of this section describes how you use the DeviceAdminReceiver
(/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver) and DevicePolicyManager
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager) APIs to write a device admin app.
Subclassing DeviceAdminReceiver
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
@Override
public void onEnabled(Context context, Intent intent) {
showToast(context, context.getString(R.string.admin_receiver_status
}
@Override
public CharSequence onDisableRequested(Context context, Intent intent)
return context.getString(R.string.admin_receiver_status_disable_war
}
@Override
public void onDisabled(Context context, Intent intent) {
showToast(context, context.getString(R.string.admin_receiver_status
}
@Override
public void onPasswordChanged(Context context, Intent intent, UserHandl
showToast(context, context.getString(R.string.admin_receiver_status
}
...
}
One of the major events a device admin app has to handle is the user enabling the app. The
user must explicitly enable the app for the policies to be enforced. If the user chooses not to
enable the app it will still be present on the device, but its policies will not be enforced, and the
user will not get any of the app's benefits.
The process of enabling the app begins when the user performs an action that triggers the
ACTION_ADD_DEVICE_ADMIN
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#ACTION_ADD_DEVICE_ADMIN) intent. In the
sample app, this happens when the user clicks the Enable Admin checkbox.
When the user clicks the Enable Admin checkbox, the display changes to prompt the user to
activate the device admin app, as shown in figure 2.
Figure 2. Sample app: activating the app
Below is the code that gets executed when the user clicks the Enable Admin checkbox. This
has the effect of triggering the onPreferenceChange()
(/reference/android/preference/Preference.OnPreferenceChangeListener#onPreferenceChange(android.pr
eference.Preference, java.lang.Object))
callback. This callback is invoked when the value of this Preference
(/reference/android/preference/Preference) has been changed by the user and is about to be set
and/or persisted. If the user is enabling the app, the display changes to prompt the user to
activate the device admin app, as shown in figure 2. Otherwise, the device admin app is
disabled.
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
@Override
public boolean onPreferenceChange(Preference preference, Object newValue) {
if (super.onPreferenceChange(preference, newValue)) {
return true;
}
boolean value = (Boolean) newValue;
if (preference == enableCheckbox) {
if (value != adminActive) {
if (value) {
// Launch the activity to have the user enable our admin.
Intent intent = new Intent(DevicePolicyManager.ACTION_ADD_D
intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_DEVICE_ADMIN, dev
intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_ADD_EXPLANATION,
activity.getString(R.string.add_admin_extra_app_tex
startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_CODE_ENABLE_ADMIN);
// return false - don't update checkbox until we're really
return false;
} else {
dpm.removeActiveAdmin(deviceAdminSample);
enableDeviceCapabilitiesArea(false);
adminActive = false;
}
}
} else if (preference == disableCameraCheckbox) {
dpm.setCameraDisabled(deviceAdminSample, value);
}
return true;
}
When the app needs to perform an operation that is contingent on the device admin app being
enabled, it confirms that the app is active. To do this it uses the DevicePolicyManager
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager) method isAdminActive()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#isAdminActive(android.content.ComponentName)) .
Notice that the DevicePolicyManager (/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager)
method isAdminActive()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#isAdminActive(android.content.ComponentName))
takes a DeviceAdminReceiver (/reference/android/app/admin/DeviceAdminReceiver) component
as its argument:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
...
private boolean isActiveAdmin() {
return dpm.isAdminActive(deviceAdminSample);
}
Managing policies
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm =
(DevicePolicyManager)getSystemService(Context.DEVICE_POLICY_SERVICE);
This code displays a user interface prompting the user to set a password:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHABETIC
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHABETIC)
The user must enter a password containing at least alphabetic (or other symbol)
characters.
PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHANUMERIC
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHANUMERIC)
The user must enter a password containing at least both numeric and alphabetic (or
other symbol) characters.
PASSWORD_QUALITY_NUMERIC
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_NUMERIC)
The user must have entered a password containing at least a letter, a numerical digit and
a special symbol.
PASSWORD_QUALITY_SOMETHING
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_SOMETHING)
The policy requires some kind of password, but doesn't care what it is.
PASSWORD_QUALITY_UNSPECIFIED
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_UNSPECIFIED)
For example, this is how you would set the password policy to require an alphanumeric
password:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
...
dpm.setPasswordQuality(deviceAdminSample, DevicePolicyManager.PASSWORD_QUAL
setPasswordMinimumLetters()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordMinimumLetters(android.conten
t.ComponentName, int))
setPasswordMinimumLowerCase()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordMinimumLowerCase(android.co
ntent.ComponentName, int))
setPasswordMinimumUpperCase()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordMinimumUpperCase(android.co
ntent.ComponentName, int))
setPasswordMinimumNonLetter()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordMinimumNonLetter(android.con
tent.ComponentName, int))
setPasswordMinimumNumeric()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordMinimumNumeric(android.conte
nt.ComponentName, int))
setPasswordMinimumSymbols()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setPasswordMinimumSymbols(android.cont
ent.ComponentName, int))
For example, this snippet states that the password must have at least 2 uppercase letters:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
int pwMinUppercase = 2;
...
dpm.setPasswordMinimumUpperCase(deviceAdminSample, pwMinUppercase);
You can specify that a password must be at least the specified minimum length. For example:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
int pwLength;
...
dpm.setPasswordMinimumLength(deviceAdminSample, pwLength);
You can set the maximum number of allowed failed password attempts before the device is
wiped (that is, reset to factory settings). For example:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
int maxFailedPw;
...
dpm.setMaximumFailedPasswordsForWipe(deviceAdminSample, maxFailedPw);
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
long pwExpiration;
...
dpm.setPasswordExpirationTimeout(deviceAdminSample, pwExpiration);
For example, this snippet prohibits users from reusing any of their last 5 passwords:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
int pwHistoryLength = 5;
...
dpm.setPasswordHistoryLength(deviceAdminSample, pwHistoryLength);
You can set the maximum period of user inactivity that can occur before the device locks. For
example:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
...
long timeMs = 1000L*Long.parseLong(timeout.getText().toString());
dpm.setMaximumTimeToLock(deviceAdminSample, timeMs);
You can also programmatically tell the device to lock immediately:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
dpm.lockNow();
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
dpm.wipeData(0);
Disable camera
Beginning with Android 4.0, you can disable the camera. Note that this doesn't have to be a
permanent disabling. The camera can be enabled/disabled dynamically based on context,
time, and so on.
You control whether the camera is disabled by using the setCameraDisabled()
(/reference/android/app/admin/DevicePolicyManager#setCameraDisabled(android.content.ComponentNa
me, boolean))
method. For example, this snippet sets the camera to be enabled or disabled based on a
checkbox setting:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
Storage encryption
For example:
Kotlin (#kotlin)Java
(#java)
DevicePolicyManager dpm;
ComponentName deviceAdminSample;
...
dpm.setStorageEncryption(deviceAdminSample, true);
See the Device Administration API sample for a complete example of how to enable storage
encryption.
Additional code samples
The Android AppRestrictionEnforcer
(https://github.com/android/enterprise-samples/tree/main/AppRestrictionEnforcer/) and DeviceOwner
(https://github.com/android/enterprise-samples/tree/main/DeviceOwner/) samples further
demonstrate the use of the APIs covered on this page.
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License (/license). Java
and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.