We are creating an enterprise android app that would be installed on several mobiles and distributed to agents who work for our clients. The mobiles are exclusively used for carrying out activities via our application.
Now we need a way to secure the mobile from these agents either “losing” it or getting absconded by changing the mobile number, we should ideally be able to track them plus brick the mobile, if need be.
I understand the tracking part, we have a broad cast service that starts another service to send GPS locations. However, there is a possibility that user could uninstall the app.
- Is it possible to make uninstall of an app password protected?
- Is it possible to prevent user from using any of the android apps / services unless he enters a secret code on our application screen?
I understand despite all this the person could just go to a specialist and re install the ROM.
Please do share any ideas / thoughts.
There is no stock way to do the specific things you ask about. However Android has a capability for enterprise security policy. You can read an overview here. Of particular note are the facts that you can specify device password policy, and perform a remote wipe.
Third party apps exist that make use of this functionality. Prey is one of them, providing the tracking feature that you mention, as well as SIM change notifications etc.
Another threat you may not have thought about is that if the device is stolen, your app may be exposed – without preventative measures such as obfuscation, it is relatively easy to reverse engineer an Android application’s APK and/or stored data. If there is any valuable and confidential information in there, you may want to take steps to secure it.