Google will finally let file manager apps request “All Files Access” on Android

[khtannnnnnnnnn]

Google has started to send out emails to developers whose apps request broad access to device storage. The email tells developers that, starting May 5th, they must inform Google why their app requests broad storage access or they won’t be allowed to publish updates that target Android 11.

Prior to Android 11, apps could request broad access to a device’s storage by declaring the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission in their Manifest and asking the user to grant it. Many apps that had no legitimate need to read all the files stored on the device’s storage were requesting this permission, causing Google to narrow storage access permissions with Android 11’s “Scoped Storage” changes. However, for apps that legitimately need broader storage access, such as file managers, Google encouraged them to continue to target Android 10 (API level 29) and to request “legacy” storage access by declaring requestLegacyExternalStorage=true in their Manifest.

Legacy access allows apps to have broad access to the device’s storage without being subjected to Scoped Storage restrictions. However, all apps that target Android 11 (API level 30) and above are subject to Scoped Storage restrictions and cannot request legacy access to device storage. Instead, they must request a new permission called MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (shown to the user as “All Files Access”) to be given broad storage access (excluding a handful of directories like /Android/data or /Android/obb).