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Fix playback stopping when Android backs up the app #6205

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Merged
geekygecko merged 5 commits into from
Oct 22, 2026
+9 −1
Merged

Fix playback stopping when Android backs up the app #6205

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48c1f06
Fix playback stopping with a full backup
geekygecko Oct 20, 2026
5e2fad1
Add CHANGELOG entry for the backup playback fix
geekygecko Oct 20, 2026
4b39ccb
Improve the changelog
geekygecko Oct 20, 2026
fdba244
Merge branch 'main' into philip/backup-playback
sztomek Oct 21, 2026
ee288aa
Remove the backupInForeground attribute
geekygecko Oct 22, 2026
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2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions CHANGELOG.md
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Expand Up @@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
([#6196](https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-android/pull/6196))
* Keep the TV from going into standby while an episode is playing in the TV app
([#6199](https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-android/pull/6199))
* Fix playback stopping early when Android backs up the app in the background on Android 16 and newer
([#6205](https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-android/pull/6205))
* Dismiss the Smart Bookmarks tooltip when the More button is tapped
([#6206](https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-android/pull/6206))

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8 changes: 7 additions & 1 deletion app/src/release/AndroidManifest.xml
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Expand Up @@ -6,5 +6,11 @@
tools:replace="android:allowBackup,android:fullBackupContent,android:dataExtractionRules"
android:allowBackup="true"
android:fullBackupContent="@xml/backup_scheme"
android:dataExtractionRules="@xml/extraction_rules"/>
android:dataExtractionRules="@xml/extraction_rules">

<!-- Stops Android 16+ killing the app (and interrupting playback) after a full backup -->
<property
android:name="android.app.backup.PROPERTY_USE_RESTRICTED_BACKUP_MODE"
Comment on lines +11 to +13

@claude claude Bot Oct 20, 2026

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On Android 16+, a user restoring to a new phone can end up with their restored podcasts and settings overwritten or reset, because restore now runs inside the full app process.

This property turns off restricted mode for restore as well as backup. That means PocketCastsApplication.onCreate runs first: Hilt init, Room opening and migrating pocketcasts, and Settings loading au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts_preferences.xml into the SharedPreferences cache. Then the transport replaces those files underneath it. Because the process is no longer killed on unbind (the shouldKillAppOnUnbind path you cite), it keeps running with an open Room connection to the old file and a stale prefs cache. The next apply() writes the pre-restore prefs back over the restored file, and DB writes go to the replaced inode. Step 6 of the test plan probably won't catch this, because the restore usually runs before anything in the app touches prefs or the DB.

Fix: keep the backup benefit but make restore safe. Add a minimal android:backupAgent with android:fullBackupOnly="true" (it stays a full backup with the same rules) and end the process in onRestoreFinished() (exitProcess(0)) so the next launch reads the restored files. Then test restore with the app already running, e.g. bmgr restore <token> au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts while it's in the foreground.

@geekygecko geekygecko Oct 20, 2026

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I completed the restore successfully in my testing, and everything worked as expected.

android:value="false" />
</application>
</manifest>
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