In case you don’t know, this new photo picker is actually pretty significant. It’s a system-level photo picker which means that it’s not specific to an app. When you summon in, you can pick and choose which individual files you want to give the app access to. This is important because it will allow you to bypass giving the app access to all of your media files at once.
Now, the Android 13 photo picker could be coming soon
This was originally discovered by Esper’s Mishaal Rahman, and he was actually able to get the feature up and running on Android 12L. However, the feature is blocked on Android 12L. It’s not completely functional on Android 13 either, to be honest, but Google is looking to make it in the near future. According to Android Police, Google will deliver the proper software components to make the feature work in the new May update. Right now, the feature exists in stasis. This isn’t something that’s completely new, however. Companies often put features in the software and leave them there for a while before activating them. The feature was present even before the Android 13 beta, but it laid dormant. With the upcoming update, however, Google will deliver the essential APIs and other additions to get the feature to work.
Why this feature is important
Privacy and security are some of the most important aspects of the smartphone experience. They sit above how many pixels are on the screen and how many gigabytes of RAM there are. This is why companies like Google and Apple do everything they can to limit apps’ exposure to vital files. Sure, apps need permission to access your files to save data. They need access to photos so you can post pictures and videos. However, there are apps out there that take advantage of this. They use certain permissions to dig deeper into your phone’s software and plant viruses, remote control your phone, or steal your data. This might sound like “tin-foil hat talk”, but it’s a sad reality. Getting rid of apps’ permission to access media files is a good step toward increasing the overall security of your phone. When you go to the bank, the teller gives you only the amount of money you need to complete the transaction. They don’t just open the whole vault and tell you to “go at it”. This Android 13 photo picker uses the same concept. The system is only giving apps the files they need, not the entire collection.
