Android Question Very large APK using sqlcipher

[ernschd]

Hello,

I wanted to change an app from sqlite to sqlcipher to work with encryption. In doing so, I noticed that the APK is getting very large, which is probably due to the different versions of the libsqlcipher.so file.

These are in the APK in the directories:

• lib\arm64-v8a\libsqlcipher.so
• lib\armeabi\libsqlcipher.so
• lib\armeabi-v7a\libsqlcipher.so
• lib\x86\libsqlcipher.so
• lib\x86_64\libsqlcipher.so

Is there any way in B4A that e.g. no x86 variant is created?
I could of course delete the file manually from the APK, but then I would probably have to adjust some things. Also, there is always the risk that the deletion is forgotten during an update.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MicroDrie]

If the size of the APK is a problem, I wonder if you realize that encrypting a database also results in a much larger database length. Another issue is that you may have a database solution in your program that conflicts with encryption. If you use a lot of public information, it may be useful to encrypt only the field information you want to protect.

 

[ernschd]

The size of the APK was around 5 MB before an 15 MB after including sqlcipher.
The database was the same size in my case (one database is even smaller).

 

[ilan]

The size of the APK was around 5 MB before an 15 MB after including sqlcipher.
The database was the same size in my case (one database is even smaller).

15mb is not very large!
with today 4g/5g it would take few seconds to download.

 

[Num3]

You can delete these safely (from inside the library aar, not the apk):

• lib\x86\libsqlcipher.so
• lib\x86_64\libsqlcipher.so

I do it all the time.
I keep a sqlite version for android and one for x64 this way, just by renaming the libray JAR and removing the uncessary junk from inside.
It will save you 3Mb in size...

 

[ernschd]

Ok, I hoped there was a option like this (a Module Attribute or something):

#ExcludeLibrary: x86

 

[tchart]

Read this;

Shrinking that SQLite JDBC library!

NOTE: This isnt recommened for everyone, this is just something that works for me. Removing support for specific platforms could cause your app to stop working. I use SQLite for a lot of server projects and I've noticed over the years that the SQLite JDBC library has gotten bigger and bigger...

www.b4x.com

 

[ernschd]

When I remove the x86 libraries and try to install the APK via ADB, I get this error message:

adb: failed to install SqlCipher.apk: Failure [INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_NO_CERTIFICATES: Failed to collect certificates from /data/app/vmdl75551812.tmp/base.apk: File lib/x86_64/libsqlcipher.so in manifest does not exist]

Which manifest is meant here?

 

[ernschd]

Unfortunately, I still didn't find a solution...

 

[MicroDrie]

Unfortunately, I still didn't find a solution...

Encrypting a SQL database has its price. One of them is a larger memory footprint. On the one hand, because in addition to the encryption routines, these must also be linked and included in your program.
You can determine how much that is by looking at the size of a test project. First with an empty database unencrypted, and then the same project with the same empty but encrypted database. Then you will find the extra memory that you cannot avoid.

Then I wrote to you before that encrypting data simply leads to more memory consumption. At the time, I also advised you to only encrypt necessary information because encrypting public information takes up space, but contributes nothing to the security of public information.

You could test encryption with the internal library (J)B4XEncryption which may require less memory.

 

[thinktank]

Try to compact sqlite database and then compile your app and check apk size... Sometimes when we play with sqlite databases, the size gradually increases, it is good practice to compact database before compiling apk

 

[ernschd]

Thanks for your reply.

I do understand that encrypting a sqlite has a higher overhead. But our app is only used by our customers, so we know that there are no x86 devices in use. That's why I would like to remove the libraries that are not needed.

The files encrypted with the internal B4XEncryption library cannot be decrypted on the PC, as far as I know?

 

[MicroDrie]

The files encrypted with the internal B4XEncryption library cannot be decrypted on the PC, as far as I know?

Not right, Erel wrote at https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/b4xencryption.48177/

It is simple to use and it is compatible with B4J jB4XEncryption library and B4i Encryption library (Encrypt and Decrypt method) which means that you can encrypt the data on one platform and decrypt it on a different platform.

 

[agraham]

C# source code and dll for desktop here for .NET desktop use. It uses Bouncy Castle but I can't think of a reason why it couldn't use the .NET AES class.

B4XEncryption .net DLL class library

Hi All, I recently had the need to send encrypted data from my B4A/B4J/B4i apps to a .net web service. Because the B4XEncryption library works in all the B4X environments, I wanted a way to decrypt and encrypt data in the same way as the B4XEncryption libraries do. Details of the B4XEncryption...

www.b4x.com