Can an app auto update?

[ColinWithMothras]

Some colleagues of mine are debating whether or not an app can update itself without prompting the user when there is a new version available. I think it would also be acceptable for the app, when it first starts, to prompt the user to go to the Google Play Store, then automatically download when the app sends the user to the store.

One colleague stated that he saw the app "Boom Beach" auto update and that the "auto-update" feature of the app was not set in settings. Is this possible?

 

[Unforgiven]

Apps that contain no new permissions can update automatically by default (I think on WiFi only, but I would have to verify). You can change the setting in the play app for all apps as well as opt app by app to not allow auto updates.

 

[Hadron]

Yeah, it's not the app's settings but the Play Store settings that control this.

I don't see any merit in an app prompting you then automatically downloading when you go to the play store though: unless you plan on never opening the play store again that still means it downloads before you can review the update and decide whether you want it, just that you choose when it does this. Personally I turn off automatic updates in the Play Store full stop, and it's up to me whether I install them. Though since there's no way of telling the Play Store "I'm done with updating this app", which means the unwanted update sits in your list forever, an update I don't want usually means that I start looking for a replacement (unless the reason is that I know the update has a bug and I'm waiting until it's fixed, which happens occasionally).