Intent

It is a message object used to request an operation or to communicate between components in an Android application.

With an Intent, we can:
- Start an Activity
- Start or bind to a Service
- Send a Broadcast
- Pass data between components

Explicit Intent

We specify exactly which component to start in our app or in the other app.

Intent intent = new Intent(this, SecondActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setData(Uri.parse("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hIY1xuImuQ"));
intent.setPackage("com.google.android.youtube");
startActivity(intent);

Implicit Intent

You specify what you want done, not who does it.

Used when:
- You want another app to handle the action
- Multiple apps could respond

It allows the OS to determine which component to start by comparing the contents of the intent to the intent filters declared in the manifest file of other apps on the device.

Android shows a chooser or picks a default.

Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);

// This shows the apps that accept an Intent Sending Text
intent.setType("text/plain");

intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL, new String[]{"test@test.test"});
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT, "Test Subject");
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Hello, This is Test Mail");

// Chooser shows list of all the apps that can handle text sharing
String chooserTitle = "Share this Text with";
Intent chooser = Intent.createChooser(intent, chooserTitle);

// startActivity(intent);   Since, we have a chooser, we can use it
startActivity(chooser);

Intent Filters

They are used for accepting an implicit intent.

Components declare intent-filters in AndroidManifest.xml.

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND"/>
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <data android:mimeType="text/plain"/>
</intent-filter>

Intent intent = getIntent();

String Iemail = Arrays.toString(intent.getStringArrayExtra(Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL)) ;
String Isubject = intent.getStringExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT);
String Ibody = intent.getStringExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT);

Pending Intent

A PendingIntent in android is a token that you give to a foreign application (e.g., NotificationManager, AlarmManager, AppWidgetManager, etc.) to allow it to execute a specific piece of code on your behalf.

PendingIntent is same as Intent, but to be triggered at later point in time by someone else (Operating System).

Intent intent = new Intent(context, MyActivity.class);
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(context, 0, intent, 0);

Last modified: 05 February 2026