Why does Android clutter up your SD card?

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Tripp-phpBB

Senior Member

Mar 26, 2010

126

16

Summerfield

• Jan 14, 2012

• #1

Why does Android clutter up my SD card with so many folders and crap. I have a class 10 16 GB card so space isn't an issue. I'm just a bit OCD and when I connect my phone to my computer I see 20+ folders from different apps and what not.

Basically, why doesn't Android better organize all this stuff into one folder? Sure I could make them hidden but I don't see why there needs to be so many folders for so many different things. Where does it all go if you don't have an SD card?

Hopefully someone can offer some insight into this madness.

 

KommodoreHeinz

Senior Member

Aug 13, 2010

420

275

• Jan 14, 2012

• #2

Tripp-phpBB said:

Why does Android clutter up my SD card with so many folders and crap. I have a class 10 16 GB card so space isn't an issue. I'm just a bit OCD and when I connect my phone to my computer I see 20+ folders from different apps and what not.

Basically, why doesn't Android better organize all this stuff into one folder? Sure I could make them hidden but I don't see why there needs to be so many folders for so many different things. Where does it all go if you don't have an SD card?

Hopefully someone can offer some insight into this madness.

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Reactions: tork0112 and blu_ninja

bumsock

Senior Member

May 2, 2010

293

30

Wichita

• Jan 14, 2012

• #3

Lol

Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

 

scottspa74

Senior Member

Apr 3, 2009

9,151

3,128

everett

Google Pixel 6

• Jan 14, 2012

• #4

Agree with OP. I spend a lot of my time on my phone in the SD via root explorer. And the amount of folders NOT created by me is dizzying. And I've wondered the same about what if no sd'. Maybe that's why the the android devices before froyo performed sooo poorly. Froyo was the first iteration of android that supported move to SD. Maybe before froyo, all of that crap went to the /data partition of the painfully memory-limited devices of the time. Thus the poor performance.
Just a stab at it. Dunno. Thinking out loud - but that's what General is FOR.

But yeah, I wondered about the no SD thing before, too. And I came from winmo, where I kept a really organized SD.

sent from xda app on drews ics

 

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oOflyeyesOo

Senior Member

May 27, 2010

994

127

St louis

• Jan 14, 2012

• #5

It would be nice if it wasn't so bad. But for the most part it is not androids fault, its the apps you have used, I have had to get rid of so many, but now im built back up over time and trying new apps out.

 

MrDSL

Senior Member

Nov 17, 2006

7,456

2,598

• Jan 15, 2012

• #6

Agree here also..hell ICS adds a bunch of folders I don't use..


Alarms,pictures,podcasts,music,notifications,ringtones to name a few..

 

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skylar.sutton

Senior Member

Aug 28, 2007

200

21

Akron, OH

• Jan 15, 2012

• #7

It's not Android, it's dip**** developers.

All app data is supposed to be stored in [sd_card]\Android\data\[name_of_the_app]. To make it really easy they provide developers a method that gets the directory for their app called getExternalFilesDir().

Email the dip**** devs and tell them to start using getExternalFilesDir. I can tell you that TitaniumBackup and a few others have point blank refused to use that directory, as I have already emailed them.

NewsRob and a few others indicated they would look into moving to that directory during the next major release.

 

scottspa74

Senior Member

Apr 3, 2009

9,151

3,128

everett

Google Pixel 6

• Jan 15, 2012

• #8

Thanks for the info.
@skylar

sent from xda app on drews ics

 

devnulldroid

Senior Member

Nov 6, 2010

417

66

PenTester Alley

militarypolice.com

• Jan 15, 2012

• #9

I have become so accustomed to reinstalling OS's after dealing with annual re installation of Microshaft OS's it doesnt bother me anymore.
Hell they are closed source, I pay big $$$ and have just as many issues just like another unmentioned OS.
I will take open source (Linux, Android, FreeBSD.. others) and the ability to create, not to mention share at no cost, unlike those others who charge $$$ any day of the week.

 

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Skeletor916

Member

Apr 24, 2010

35

6

• Jan 21, 2012

• #10

Lol, couldn't agree with this any more. Files and folders are about the only thing I'm OCD about and it bugs me to no end.

 

Ironwrung

Senior Member

Jan 17, 2010

156

21

• Jun 24, 2013

• #11

Yup, android and android developers ought to do something about folders cluttering mem cards, I also came from windows mobile before I started out with android, windows had a dedicated folder for application's data called program files, android or atleast developers should stick to the default android folder on sd cards to minimize the clutter