Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
--
Ken Hart
kwhart1@frontier.com

Ken Hart wrote:

> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?

Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore

On 07/14/2021 02:52 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
> Ken Hart wrote:
>
>> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
>
> Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore

I wish the PlayStore didn't list every app I ever downloaded for any
device. If I delete it from a device it should delete it, or at least
mark it FAIL, from their list. I might be able to delete the losers
myself, but that would require actual THOUGHT about hundreds of apps :-(

--
Cheers, Bev
"Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them."
-- Lionel

On 7/14/2021 5:42 PM, The Real Bev wrote:
>>> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
>>
>> Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore
>
> I wish the PlayStore didn't list every app I ever downloaded for any
> device. If I delete it from a device it should delete it, or at least
> mark it FAIL, from their list. I might be able to delete the losers
> myself, but that would require actual THOUGHT about hundreds of apps :-(

It must be possible since I can see "Date Installed" for any individual app.
What I'd want is an app drawer that has a "sort by install date" option.
But I haven't found any app drawer that has that "sort by date" option.
--
Ken Hart
kwhart1@frontier.com

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 07/14/2021 02:52 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
> > Ken Hart wrote:
> >
> >> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
> >
> > Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore
>
> I wish the PlayStore didn't list every app I ever downloaded for any
> device. If I delete it from a device it should delete it, or at least
> mark it FAIL, from their list. I might be able to delete the losers
> myself, but that would require actual THOUGHT about hundreds of apps :-(

You don't mention your Android version, but my Android 11 phone just
does the sensible thing:

If I set the toggle [1] to 'Installed', it lists ... ummm ... the
installed apps! If I set it to 'Not installed', it lists ... ummm ...
apps which are not installed on this device, but which have been
installed at some point in time on a device managed by this Google
Account.

So just leave the toggle at 'Installed' and Bob's your uncle!

[1] Play Store app -> upper right circle with first letter of your
account -> Manage apps & device -> 'Manage' tab -> left-hand pull-down
menu -> Installed

On 07/15/2021 08:42 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 07/14/2021 02:52 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>> > Ken Hart wrote:
>> >
>> >> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
>> >
>> > Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore
>>
>> I wish the PlayStore didn't list every app I ever downloaded for any
>> device. If I delete it from a device it should delete it, or at least
>> mark it FAIL, from their list. I might be able to delete the losers
>> myself, but that would require actual THOUGHT about hundreds of apps :-(
>
> You don't mention your Android version, but my Android 11 phone just
> does the sensible thing:
>
> If I set the toggle [1] to 'Installed', it lists ... ummm ... the
> installed apps! If I set it to 'Not installed', it lists ... ummm ...
> apps which are not installed on this device, but which have been
> installed at some point in time on a device managed by this Google
> Account.

NO, I mean the actual website with the computer. That's what I use to
look for/evaluate new apps. Much easier than using the phone. When I
find something interesting I install it on the phone. If I don't like
it I delete it. I want the website to recognize the deletion in some way.

> So just leave the toggle at 'Installed' and Bob's your uncle!
>
> [1] Play Store app -> upper right circle with first letter of your
> account -> Manage apps & device -> 'Manage' tab -> left-hand pull-down
> menu -> Installed

--
Cheers, Bev
"Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket."
-- George Orwell

The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 07/15/2021 08:42 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> > The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On 07/14/2021 02:52 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
> >> > Ken Hart wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
> >> >
> >> > Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore
> >>
> >> I wish the PlayStore didn't list every app I ever downloaded for any
> >> device. If I delete it from a device it should delete it, or at least
> >> mark it FAIL, from their list. I might be able to delete the losers
> >> myself, but that would require actual THOUGHT about hundreds of apps :-(
> >
> > You don't mention your Android version, but my Android 11 phone just
> > does the sensible thing:
> >
> > If I set the toggle [1] to 'Installed', it lists ... ummm ... the
> > installed apps! If I set it to 'Not installed', it lists ... ummm ...
> > apps which are not installed on this device, but which have been
> > installed at some point in time on a device managed by this Google
> > Account.
>
> NO, I mean the actual website with the computer.

Ah, I see. The website is called 'Google Play'. The (Android) app is
called 'Play Store'. Important difference.

> That's what I use to
> look for/evaluate new apps. Much easier than using the phone. When I
> find something interesting I install it on the phone. If I don't like
> it I delete it. I want the website to recognize the deletion in some way.

For all intents and purposes, the website *cannot* recognize the
'deletion', because the 'deletion' (read: Uninstall) can/normally_is
done outside the Play Store app and does not contact your (Google)
account in any way.

Also - as I mentioned before - the list is for your (Google) *account*
- which may manage several devices, not a single device. So even *if*
Google could track uninstalls, it would have to keep track of all
uninstalls per app and only delete an app from the list if it had been
uninstalled from all devices in the account.

Then there's the issue of saving an app to an APK, uninstalling it and
perhaps re-installing it from the APK. How is Google supposed to know
what you've been tinkering with?

As you can see, there's a wealth of nightmares here, so don't count on
getting your desired functionality anytime soon.

> > So just leave the toggle at 'Installed' and Bob's your uncle!
> >
> > [1] Play Store app -> upper right circle with first letter of your
> > account -> Manage apps & device -> 'Manage' tab -> left-hand pull-down
> > menu -> Installed

Ken Hart wrote:

> It must be possible since I can see "Date Installed" for any individual
> app.

I wonder if

adb shell 'pm list packages -f'

would spit it out?

On 07/16/2021 06:12 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 07/15/2021 08:42 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>> > The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> On 07/14/2021 02:52 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
>> >> > Ken Hart wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >> Is there any way to get an app list by install date?
>> >> >
>> >> > Can't see a way either in Settings/Apps or in PlayStore
>> >>
>> >> I wish the PlayStore didn't list every app I ever downloaded for any
>> >> device. If I delete it from a device it should delete it, or at least
>> >> mark it FAIL, from their list. I might be able to delete the losers
>> >> myself, but that would require actual THOUGHT about hundreds of apps :-(
>> >
>> > You don't mention your Android version, but my Android 11 phone just
>> > does the sensible thing:
>> >
>> > If I set the toggle [1] to 'Installed', it lists ... ummm ... the
>> > installed apps! If I set it to 'Not installed', it lists ... ummm ...
>> > apps which are not installed on this device, but which have been
>> > installed at some point in time on a device managed by this Google
>> > Account.
>>
>> NO, I mean the actual website with the computer.
>
> Ah, I see. The website is called 'Google Play'. The (Android) app is
> called 'Play Store'. Important difference.
>
>> That's what I use to
>> look for/evaluate new apps. Much easier than using the phone. When I
>> find something interesting I install it on the phone. If I don't like
>> it I delete it. I want the website to recognize the deletion in some way.
>
> For all intents and purposes, the website *cannot* recognize the
> 'deletion', because the 'deletion' (read: Uninstall) can/normally_is
> done outside the Play Store app and does not contact your (Google)
> account in any way.
>
> Also - as I mentioned before - the list is for your (Google) *account*
> - which may manage several devices, not a single device. So even *if*
> Google could track uninstalls, it would have to keep track of all
> uninstalls per app and only delete an app from the list if it had been
> uninstalled from all devices in the account.
>
> Then there's the issue of saving an app to an APK, uninstalling it and
> perhaps re-installing it from the APK. How is Google supposed to know
> what you've been tinkering with?
>
> As you can see, there's a wealth of nightmares here, so don't count on
> getting your desired functionality anytime soon.

Wouldn't dream of it! But given that google can tell if there are
updates to my apps, I don't see why it should be so much more difficult
to tell when one disappears. They just don't want to!

Note: I don't auto-update; every once in a while I check and see stuff
like <There are 78 updates. Update now?> This happens maybe once every
week or two :-(

>> > So just leave the toggle at 'Installed' and Bob's your uncle!
>> >
>> > [1] Play Store app -> upper right circle with first letter of your
>> > account -> Manage apps & device -> 'Manage' tab -> left-hand pull-down
>> > menu -> Installed

--
Cheers, Bev
There is a fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness.'

The Real Bev wrote on 16.07.2021 13:18
> Note: I don't auto-update; every once in a while I check and see stuff
> like <There are 78 updates. Update now?> This happens maybe once every
> week or two :-(

I autosave all my APKs and like you I _never update them automatically_.

Differently, most Android users probably have a Google account set in their
Google "Play Store" app but I don't, & yet, my "Play Store" app _still_
(seemingly) knows what APKs to update when I press on its "Updates" button.
<https://i.postimg.cc/15WS57j2/apk03.jpg>

How does that Google "Play Store" app know _which_ apps need to be updated?
--
Unlike most people on Usenet, my credibility is 100% on facts since I
provide references (often with personal screenhots) of the facts I write.

Frank Slootweg wrote on 16.07.2021 15:12
> Then there's the issue of saving an app to an APK, uninstalling it and
> perhaps re-installing it from the APK. How is Google supposed to know
> what you've been tinkering with?

My Google "Play Store" app has knowledge of some APKs which it thinks need
to be updated, and yet I do not have a Google Account set up on the phone.
<https://i.postimg.cc/j2g26zws/apk03.jpg>

Since I don't have a Google Account (not for the phone, anyway), there's no
way I can log into the Google website called "Google Play" to get that data.
<https://support.google.com/googleplay/thread/new>

However, a search seems to find ancient articles asking the same question.
*How to sort apps by install date on Android*
<https://www.phonearena.com/news/How-to-sort-apps-by-install-date-on-Android_id65748>

That article said you can do it with an app such as "Smart App Manager".
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.james.SmartUninstaller>

But I try to never install apps with ads, so I simply ran a better search
than what Google Play Store app or the Google Play web site can do, to find
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.sourcenetitalia.appmanager>

This shows the value of using a good search engine where my first (and only)
test of that free add free gsf-free google-free "App Manager" seemed to work
<https://i.postimg.cc/02jbkHFr/apk04.jpg>
The first release date was August 21, 2020, with an interim release date of
November 12, 2020, so it seems to be a relatively new app on google play.

It says it works with almost all Android versions up to and including
Android 11 and 12, but so far it only has about a hundred downloads, so I
can't say much more about it yet.

But it passed the simple test of sorting installed apps by date, although
I'm not sure yet _which_ date it uses as there are multiple dates for apps.
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager/>
Which shows there is a "Date Installed" and a "Date Update" for each app.
<https://i.postimg.cc/mgFkM1bs/apk05.jpg>

A subsequent "APK Analyzer" run showed "Date First Installed" and "Date Last
Updated", which confirms there are at least 2 dates of import for each app.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sk.styk.martin.apkanalyzer>

Where a test of which date was sorted shows it was the "Last updated" date.
<https://i.postimg.cc/MZPpFmHw/apk07.jpg>

A test of other apk managers showed others also sorted by "Last updated"
date, but Package Viewer finally sorted installed apps by _either_ date!
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seeq.prog.android.packageviewer>

Here is a screenshot showing the Package Viewer two sort by date results.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Jhxs4VrD/apk08.jpg>

Bingo! Problem solved!
*Note that it _shows_ the "Last updated" date, but it _sorts_ as claimed.*
--
My credibility is stellar at 100% on facts over the decades on Usenet simply
because I provide proof of the facts, often with well annotated screenshots.

On 7/17/2021 1:49 AM, paul wrote:
> A test of other apk managers showed others also sorted by "Last updated"
> date, but Package Viewer finally sorted installed apps by _either_ date!
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seeq.prog.android.packageviewer>

That seeq.prog package viewer does the install date sort I was asking for.
Thank you.
--
Ken Hart
kwhart1@frontier.com