Android: Storing username and password?

Issue

If I want to store the username and password to be used inside an Android application, what is the best way to do it? Is it through the preferences screen (but what if the user misses this?), or pop up a dialog box and ask the user for the credentials? If so, I do have to maintain state for the application. How would I do this?

Solution

Most Android and iPhone apps I have seen use an initial screen or dialog box to ask for credentials. I think it is cumbersome for the user to have to re-enter their name/password often, so storing that info makes sense from a usability perspective.

The advice from the (Android dev guide) is:

In general, we recommend minimizing the frequency of asking for user credentials -- to make phishing attacks more conspicuous, and less likely to be successful. Instead use an authorization token and refresh it.

Where possible, username and password should not be stored on the device. Instead, perform initial authentication using the username and password supplied by the user, and then use a short-lived, service-specific authorization token.

Using the AccountManger is the best option for storing credentials. The SampleSyncAdapter provides an example of how to use it.

If this is not an option to you for some reason, you can fall back to persisting credentials using the Preferences mechanism. Other applications won't be able to access your preferences, so the user's information is not easily exposed.

Answered By - Eric Levine