Google is planning some significant changes to the way apps can access Android smartphone users’ media files.
The decision that the American company took is an important one for the security and protection of the privacy of all owners of mobile devices.
Unrestricted access to the photo gallery becomes history
Most of the apps we use on a daily basis ask us for permission to have unlimited access to all the pictures and videos saved on our phones.
Many of us grant them this permission without realizing that pictures and videos reveal intimate aspects and that giving unrestricted access can be dangerous.
With the release of Android 12 in 2022, Google introduced a safer method of selecting media files: Photo Picker.
Google’s new approach
While many popular apps have adopted the new media file selection system, there are still others that continue this practice even though they don’t really need that level of access to work.
Google has decided to move from a simple recommendation to the mandatory imposition of the new policy.
The company will include the requirement to use Photo Picker in the official Play Store policy. Thus, developers will have nothing to do but comply.
The deadline is approaching
Google has already chosen a deadline for developers to justify the need for access to the entire media library: October 31, 2024.
They will need to complete a declaration form demonstrating that their applications qualify for this level of access.
From 2025 onwards, only apps whose core functionality depends on access to images and videos will be able to request permission to see them all. In addition, access will be granted on a short-term basis.
Benefits for users
They will be able to select specifically those pictures or clips they want to share with a particular app, without granting access to all of them.
The Photo Picker interface has been updated so it offers larger previews and tabs to switch between multimedia items and albums.
A more secure Android
As we move closer to the full implementation of this policy in 2025, we can anticipate a much improved Android ecosystem in terms of user privacy.
Source: Android Headlines
Source: www.go4it.ro
