I can not downgrade an app on android 7.1.2

[jimjones_br]

I uninstalled whatsapp and kept its data using:

adb.exe shell pm uninstall -k com.whatsapp

Then I tried to install an old version of whatsapp, but got the following error message even using the -r -d flags:

>adb install -r -d tmp\LegacyWhatsApp.apk
1738 KB/s (18329558 bytes in 10.298s)
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_VERSION_DOWNGRADE]

I'm using Windows 10 and Pixel XL android version 7.1.2
How can I downgrade whatsapp and keep the data folder?

 

[hallux]

I'm not an expert, but thinking about it, you might consider temporarily moving the Whatsapp data to a different folder while performing the install. Unfortunately, the app may have done some database upgrades/changes during an app update, rendering the database useless with an older version of the app.

 

[jimjones_br]

I have no access to the application data folder, because my phone is not rooted.