Unclear what storage permissions are needed for
This is half bug report, half feature request.
Background
I would strongly any internet-facing app to have access to all my files. If there is no other way, I at least need the app to explain to me very carefully why such access is needed and what it plans to do with it.
Status quo
During onboarding I get asked to grant the following permissions:
- External storage access (which AFAIU translates to "Allow access to media only" in Android's jargon)
- External storage manager (which AFAIU translates to "Allow management of all files" in Android's jargon)
However, to me it is unclear what these permissions are needed for, given that Aurora "merely" needs a way of downloading/storing files and it could (I think) always use a folder in [internal storage]/Android/com.dragons.aurora/
. If this is not the case, it needs explaining in my opinion. This is particularly true in light of the bug below.
Bug
I'm using Aurora on Android 12 and Aurora Store claims (during onboarding) that the "External storage manager" permission is required for Android R+, i.e. Android >= 11, and forces me to grant this permission before proceeding. However, after granting the permission during onboarding and ungranting it again afterwards, Aurora still seems to be able to download and install apps. (I'm using the recommended installation method, i.e. "session installer".)
Moreover, I also tried disabling file access (including media files) altogether after onboarding and in this case, Aurora would prompt me for media file access upon downloading an app. While I still don't understand why it can't just use [internal storage]/Android/com.dragons.aurora/
, showing a prompt when downloading at least makes sense UX-wise and feels more natural than granting "sweeping access" during onboarding.
Feature request
- Explain to the user in detail what storage permissions are needed for during onboarding
- Don't make "external storage manager" permission mandatory during onboarding as it does not seem to be needed.