Hey everyone,
I noticed that files that I delete with Amaze are still visible in the stock Android download app (which is, as far as I understand, the somewhat hidden default Android file manager. Open by clicking on Downloads under Settings - Storage).
The files are inaccessible, but still visible with their original file names, sizes and dates added.
Also using Secure Wipe didn’t solve the problem.
Any hint how to permanently delete these remnants?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Dominik
I moved this thread to #software:fp2-android-5-1 and removed the #unsolved tag as this is not exactly an issue that can be solved.
The way I see it the downloads app is a companion app to the preinstalled browser. Both are apps that are outdated and bad. The files you deleted with amaze are gone, the download app just fails to notice.
It’s best to simply disable the downloads app and just use amaze instead.
I don’t know if this still applies to Lollipop,
but in older Android versions you could tap-and-hold those files, select them and press “delete”.
Thanks for the helpful reply. Amaze is my standard file browser ap, but some apps - for example OpenKeyChain - use the download app for browsing files.
I now deactivated the app “Download Manager” (not the App “Downloads”) and when OpenKeyChain tries opening files, now another stock file manager window opens that does not display deleted files.
Still, just for my own understanding: Are these file information still somewhere in the file system or are they in the Download Manager’s cache?
The files are already deleted and trying to delete them causes an error message.
It’s only the files’ metadata that is still there.
You could delete the whole data of the Downloads app, though.
I actually did it the other way around, but I don’t really know what the two apps do exactly. After deactivating “Downloads” the app doesn’t show up in the app launcher anymore at least.
That’s strange. 
I believe it’s just in the app. Sure technically simply deleting a file is never enough to entirely erase it from the hard drive. Only after you reformat the harddrive or overwrite the file it will be impossible to recover it. But I guess that’s not what you’re asking.
That is strange, but as long as it works 
Here is a screenshot of the file manager now opening - maybe you can identify it? It looks very similar to the Downloads app with the only difference that it does not contain a folder called “Downloads”.
I followed @YtvwlD and deleted the app’s file and that did the trick. So the information was indeed stored only within the app and not correctly updated there.
This looks like the Android file picker which was introduced in KiKat - I suppose, because external apps can’t access the whole storage anymore.
Fun fact: The Play Store only works with the Download Manager App activated.
So I guess I’ll just clear this app’s cash every once in a while…
Yes, the download manager is the official way for Android apps to download big files to your device. The Fairphone updater for example won’t work without, either.
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