File Management or Storage Access on Android is a severely flawed design, even after the recent implemention of SAF (Storage Access Framework) with Android 11.
Scoped storage introduced in Android 11 is good, but Restricted Storage would be an even better option.
On Android, at the moment, apps that have access to internal storage for their own files, also have access to every other file in the system. This is definitely a privacy risk, and also a security concern. With the introduction of Scoped Storage, some of that is being addressed. Yet, there is still huge scope for misuse if apps have malicious intent.
Ideally, all apps must only have access to their own files - those created by the app and those downloaded by the user using that app. For access to any other file, every app must go through the built-in file manager to prevent misuse. What that means is no app has permanent access to files that are not created by them, and can only access external files each time with explicit user consent and interaction. This would completely address the privacy concerns with regards to user files.
This is how the Files app in iOS is designed and is an extremely well thought out one. Let me illustrate with an example:
We all know how Facebook is notorious when it comes to privacy. Let's assume you have a Facebook account and the Facebook app is installed on your phone. If you want to share a picture on Facebook, you have to grant the app access to your internal storage. On Android, this effectively grants Facebook access to every file on your storage. Given its reputation, it won't be surprising if Facebook app scans all your pictures/ videos for its AI/ ML, or even uploads them without your knowledge.
On iOS, the permission screen looks like this:
You have the choice of either granting permanent access (Option 1), or limit the access to just the file you want (Option 2).
On Android, it is essentially Option 1 alone. You have to grant access to the entire file system for you to be able to upload your pics to Facebook.
On iOS, you have the choice of uploading just the pic you want, without giving the app access to any other file in your internal storage. This is a huge privacy boon.
In this case, Facebook app has to make a request to the built in file manager (which obviously has access to every file in the system), and you browse your media library using the built-in file manager (with which the built-in Photos app is integrated) to grant access. Facebook app sees nothing else, and you are still able to upload the file you want!
Same holds true for every app. An app should only have permanent access to its own files, and not any other file. For access to any other file, the app has to go through the built-in file manager route and access only the file that the user wants it to see.
That said, it would be great to have the ability to configure the privacy setting for each folder on internal storage. We can either set it to "Restricted" or "Unrestricted".
Folders which are assigned the "Unrestricted" parameter setting, their contents are accessible to all apps (like it is now).
Folders which are assigned the "Restricted" parameter setting, their contents can only be accessed via the built-in file manager route as explained in the example above. This should be the default setting for every folder in the system.
Hope Google and Android OEMs can design something like this keeping in mind the privacy needs of its users, and the abusive intents of large corporations and malicious actors.
