If not for design changes, Android 13 is all about privacy and security. Google has Ladi down a lot of protection measures for users in Android 13, with some being seen in early beta versions.
Now, in Beta 3 of Android 13, we see the Android system forcing apps to seek granular permissions to all the media types from users. If an app fails to split its permissions since it’s targeting an older Android version, the Android 13 system warns users that permitting one access to that app could allow it for all types of media.
Android 13 Media Files Access
Over time, we’ve come from Android apps seeking device permissions automatically after installation to individual permissions whenever required. In terms of media, Google made this a bit better by dividing the media file types and letting apps seek individual permissions for each of them.
This is happening in Android 13, where Google divided the media file types into audio, video, photos, etc., and forced apps to seek granular permissions to all of them individually.
If an older app is unable to split its permissions (since it’s targeting an older Android version), they can ask users to grant one single permission for all – but the Android 13 system displays a warning that granting one access to that app will let it access all of the media!
Android 13 will warn you when you try to grant an app targeting an older version access to media files owned by other apps. This is because READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE is only split into AUDIO, VIDEO, and IMAGES for apps targeting API 33.https://t.co/MUFYTnxRdl pic.twitter.com/IuicmwAOxw
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 8, 2022
This warning label should caution users while granting permissions, hopes Google. This works better to thwart malicious music player apps we see today, which are installed from unknown sources and request users to grant permission to audio files but get gallery permissions too.
A whole working functionality of this support will arrive in Android 13, which is currently having its third beta version released just yesterday. While there’s still one more such update in the pipeline, we expect Google to roll out a stable Android 13 OS to eligible devices by the end of this year.
