Android Which SharedPreferences to Use

There are basically 3 ways to get SharedPreferences.

• PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(applicationContext). This is the default used by PreferenceFragment.
• context.getSharedPreferences("NAME", Context.MODE_PRIVATE). Create your own by specifying a name.
• activity.getPreferences(Context.MODE_PRIVATE). To be used for this activity only.

If I need a global SharedPreferences per application, I prefer PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(applicationContext) as it is used by PreferenceFragment as well (avoid having to maintain 2 SharedPreferences, or reconfigure PreferenceFragment)

References:

• https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/shared-preferences