android - setPackage for intent in gingerbread

Question

According to the android documentation:

Alternatively, starting with ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH, you can also safely restrict the broadcast to a single application with Intent.setPackage

Is there any way in Gingerbread (using the compatibility library perhaps) to restrict a sendBroadcat() event such that it only sends it to a specified package?

Answer 1

My first suggestion would be to use LocalBroadcastManager if at all possible. This allows you to completely ignore any security issues.

If you really do need to send the broadcast from one app to another, it is indeed true that registerReceiver() did not respect the setPackage restriction until ICS so you can not rely on it until then. There is no secret trick to do what you want, it's just that the platform doesn't have the facility for it.

That said... if you are to the point of specifying an explicit package name, why not just go all the way and use Intent.setComponent()?

Also keep in mind that even setPackage() or setComponent() are not automatically completely secure -- you are still making an assumption that you know who is implementing that package name, and it is entirely possible for a different app than what you expect to be installed through side-loading, even if you own the name in the Play Store.