diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.cpp b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.cpp
index 8770255..0e90100 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.cpp
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.cpp
@@ -120,9 +120,5 @@
 #endif
 }
 
-std::string DeviceInfo::GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar() const {
-    return kSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar;
-}
-
 }  // namespace snapshot
 }  // namespace android
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.h
index 1f08860..d8d3d91 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/device_info.h
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@
     bool SetBootControlMergeStatus(MergeStatus status) override;
     bool SetSlotAsUnbootable(unsigned int slot) override;
     bool IsRecovery() const override;
-    std::string GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar() const override;
 
   private:
     bool EnsureBootHal();
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/mock_device_info.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/mock_device_info.h
index d5c263d..ef9d648 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/mock_device_info.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/mock_device_info.h
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
     MOCK_METHOD(bool, SetBootControlMergeStatus, (MergeStatus status), (override));
     MOCK_METHOD(bool, SetSlotAsUnbootable, (unsigned int slot), (override));
     MOCK_METHOD(bool, IsRecovery, (), (const, override));
-    MOCK_METHOD(std::string, GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar, (), (const, override));
 };
 
 }  // namespace android::snapshot
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapshot.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapshot.h
index c06b0b4..f8d3cdc 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapshot.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapshot.h
@@ -107,7 +107,6 @@
         virtual bool SetSlotAsUnbootable(unsigned int slot) = 0;
         virtual bool IsRecovery() const = 0;
         virtual bool IsTestDevice() const { return false; }
-        virtual std::string GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar() const = 0;
     };
     virtual ~ISnapshotManager() = default;
 
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.h
index 0e9ba9e..aa9ba6e 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.h
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@
 
 static constexpr uint32_t PACKET_SIZE = 512;
 
-static constexpr char kSnapuserdSocketFirstStage[] = "snapuserd_first_stage";
 static constexpr char kSnapuserdSocket[] = "snapuserd";
 
 static constexpr char kSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar[] = "FIRST_STAGE_SNAPUSERD_PID";
@@ -38,10 +37,6 @@
 // Ensure that the second-stage daemon for snapuserd is running.
 bool EnsureSnapuserdStarted();
 
-// Start the first-stage version of snapuserd, returning its pid. This is used
-// by first-stage init, as well as vts_libsnapshot_test. On failure, -1 is returned.
-pid_t StartFirstStageSnapuserd();
-
 class SnapuserdClient {
   private:
     android::base::unique_fd sockfd_;
@@ -75,6 +70,11 @@
     // Wait for snapuserd to disassociate with a dm-user control device. This
     // must ONLY be called if the control device has already been deleted.
     bool WaitForDeviceDelete(const std::string& control_device);
+
+    // Detach snapuserd. This shuts down the listener socket, and will cause
+    // snapuserd to gracefully exit once all handler threads have terminated.
+    // This should only be used on first-stage instances of snapuserd.
+    bool DetachSnapuserd();
 };
 
 }  // namespace snapshot
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.h
index cadfd71..1491aac 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.h
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     QUERY,
     STOP,
     DELETE,
+    DETACH,
     INVALID,
 };
 
@@ -106,6 +107,7 @@
     bool IsTerminating() { return terminating_; }
 
     void RunThread(std::shared_ptr<DmUserHandler> handler);
+    void JoinAllThreads();
 
     // Find a DmUserHandler within a lock.
     HandlerList::iterator FindHandler(std::lock_guard<std::mutex>* proof_of_lock,
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include_test/libsnapshot/test_helpers.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include_test/libsnapshot/test_helpers.h
index 1d1510a..7aef086 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include_test/libsnapshot/test_helpers.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/include_test/libsnapshot/test_helpers.h
@@ -96,7 +96,6 @@
         return true;
     }
     bool IsTestDevice() const override { return true; }
-    std::string GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar() const override { return {}; }
 
     bool IsSlotUnbootable(uint32_t slot) { return unbootable_slots_.count(slot) != 0; }
 
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp
index 57e7b83..04c3ccc 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp
@@ -1402,24 +1402,6 @@
         LOG(ERROR) << "Could not transition all snapuserd consumers.";
         return false;
     }
-
-    std::string pid_var = device_->GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar();
-    if (pid_var.empty()) {
-        return true;
-    }
-
-    int pid;
-    const char* pid_str = getenv(pid_var.c_str());
-    if (pid_str && android::base::ParseInt(pid_str, &pid)) {
-        if (kill(pid, SIGTERM) < 0 && errno != ESRCH) {
-            LOG(ERROR) << "kill snapuserd failed";
-            return false;
-        }
-    } else {
-        LOG(ERROR) << "Could not find or parse " << kSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar
-                   << " for snapuserd pid";
-        return false;
-    }
     return true;
 }
 
@@ -1764,15 +1746,6 @@
         }
     }
 
-    if (use_first_stage_snapuserd_) {
-        // Remove the first-stage socket as a precaution, there is no need to
-        // access the daemon anymore and we'll be killing it once second-stage
-        // is running.
-        auto socket = ANDROID_SOCKET_DIR + "/"s + kSnapuserdSocketFirstStage;
-        snapuserd_client_ = nullptr;
-        unlink(socket.c_str());
-    }
-
     LOG(INFO) << "Created logical partitions with snapshot.";
     return true;
 }
@@ -2419,28 +2392,11 @@
         return true;
     }
 
-    std::string socket;
-    if (use_first_stage_snapuserd_) {
-        auto pid = StartFirstStageSnapuserd();
-        if (pid < 0) {
-            LOG(ERROR) << "Failed to start snapuserd";
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        auto pid_str = std::to_string(static_cast<int>(pid));
-        if (setenv(kSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar, pid_str.c_str(), 1) < 0) {
-            PLOG(ERROR) << "setenv failed storing the snapuserd pid";
-        }
-
-        socket = kSnapuserdSocketFirstStage;
-    } else {
-        if (!EnsureSnapuserdStarted()) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        socket = kSnapuserdSocket;
+    if (!use_first_stage_snapuserd_ && !EnsureSnapuserdStarted()) {
+        return false;
     }
 
-    snapuserd_client_ = SnapuserdClient::Connect(socket, 10s);
+    snapuserd_client_ = SnapuserdClient::Connect(kSnapuserdSocket, 10s);
     if (!snapuserd_client_) {
         LOG(ERROR) << "Unable to connect to snapuserd";
         return false;
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_fuzz_utils.h b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_fuzz_utils.h
index 092ee0b..5319e69 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_fuzz_utils.h
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_fuzz_utils.h
@@ -124,7 +124,6 @@
         return data_->allow_set_slot_as_unbootable();
     }
     bool IsRecovery() const override { return data_->is_recovery(); }
-    std::string GetSnapuserdFirstStagePidVar() const override { return {}; }
 
     void SwitchSlot() { switched_slot_ = !switched_slot_; }
 
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_test.cpp b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_test.cpp
index 74558ab..c6a1786 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_test.cpp
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot_test.cpp
@@ -1760,9 +1760,6 @@
         GTEST_SKIP() << "Skipping Virtual A/B Compression test";
     }
 
-    AutoKill auto_kill(StartFirstStageSnapuserd());
-    ASSERT_TRUE(auto_kill.valid());
-
     // Ensure a connection to the second-stage daemon, but use the first-stage
     // code paths thereafter.
     ASSERT_TRUE(sm->EnsureSnapuserdConnected());
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.cpp b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.cpp
index a5d2061..7282bff 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.cpp
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_client.cpp
@@ -54,25 +54,6 @@
     return true;
 }
 
-pid_t StartFirstStageSnapuserd() {
-    pid_t pid = fork();
-    if (pid < 0) {
-        PLOG(ERROR) << "fork failed";
-        return pid;
-    }
-    if (pid != 0) {
-        return pid;
-    }
-
-    std::string arg0 = "/system/bin/snapuserd";
-    std::string arg1 = kSnapuserdSocketFirstStage;
-    char* const argv[] = {arg0.data(), arg1.data(), nullptr};
-    if (execv(arg0.c_str(), argv) < 0) {
-        PLOG(FATAL) << "execv failed";
-    }
-    return pid;
-}
-
 SnapuserdClient::SnapuserdClient(android::base::unique_fd&& sockfd) : sockfd_(std::move(sockfd)) {}
 
 static inline bool IsRetryErrno() {
@@ -229,5 +210,13 @@
     return num_sectors;
 }
 
+bool SnapuserdClient::DetachSnapuserd() {
+    if (!Sendmsg("detach")) {
+        LOG(ERROR) << "Failed to detach snapuserd.";
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
 }  // namespace snapshot
 }  // namespace android
diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.cpp b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.cpp
index 9d57ab0..7a5cead 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.cpp
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapuserd_server.cpp
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     if (input == "stop") return DaemonOperations::STOP;
     if (input == "query") return DaemonOperations::QUERY;
     if (input == "delete") return DaemonOperations::DELETE;
+    if (input == "detach") return DaemonOperations::DETACH;
 
     return DaemonOperations::INVALID;
 }
@@ -72,19 +73,7 @@
 
 void SnapuserdServer::ShutdownThreads() {
     StopThreads();
-
-    // Acquire the thread list within the lock.
-    std::vector<std::shared_ptr<DmUserHandler>> dm_users;
-    {
-        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(lock_);
-        dm_users = std::move(dm_users_);
-    }
-
-    for (auto& client : dm_users) {
-        auto& th = client->thread();
-
-        if (th.joinable()) th.join();
-    }
+    JoinAllThreads();
 }
 
 const std::string& DmUserHandler::GetMiscName() const {
@@ -214,6 +203,10 @@
             }
             return Sendmsg(fd, "success");
         }
+        case DaemonOperations::DETACH: {
+            terminating_ = true;
+            return Sendmsg(fd, "success");
+        }
         default: {
             LOG(ERROR) << "Received unknown message type from client";
             Sendmsg(fd, "fail");
@@ -234,7 +227,7 @@
 
     LOG(INFO) << "Exiting thread for handler: " << handler->GetMiscName();
 
-    // If the main thread called /emoveHandler, the handler was already removed
+    // If the main thread called RemoveHandler, the handler was already removed
     // from within the lock, and calling RemoveHandler again has no effect.
     RemoveHandler(handler->GetMiscName(), false);
 }
@@ -286,9 +279,26 @@
             }
         }
     }
+
+    JoinAllThreads();
     return true;
 }
 
+void SnapuserdServer::JoinAllThreads() {
+    // Acquire the thread list within the lock.
+    std::vector<std::shared_ptr<DmUserHandler>> dm_users;
+    {
+        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(lock_);
+        dm_users = std::move(dm_users_);
+    }
+
+    for (auto& client : dm_users) {
+        auto& th = client->thread();
+
+        if (th.joinable()) th.join();
+    }
+}
+
 void SnapuserdServer::AddWatchedFd(android::base::borrowed_fd fd) {
     struct pollfd p = {};
     p.fd = fd.get();