The Image component requests READ permission for the ASD on Android < 10

Anke · June 17, 2022, 6:51am

Image component incorrectly requests READ permission for the ASD on Android < 10.

This is another bug on all Android versions between 4.4 (KitKat, API 19) and 9 (Pie, API 28).

But not on Android 11+.

Horizon · June 17, 2022, 8:52am

Yes this is a issue of concern

ewpatton · June 17, 2022, 11:07am

Thanks for the report. This issue is being tracked on GitHub:

github.com/mit-cml/appinventor-sources

Image component is overly generous asking for permissions

opened 11:07AM - 17 Jun 22 UTC

ewpatton

bug issue: noted for future Work status: forum affects: ucr priority: medium

**Describe the bug**  The Image component's `Picture` property asks for READ permission for any path on the "external" storage partition. However, for Android SDK 19+, this is not needed for any files within the app-specific storage directory. This can lead to apps asking for permission when none is needed. The easiest way to mitigate would likely be to replace the conditional of the if statement at the top of the `Picture` method with a call to `RUtil.needsFilePermission`, which encodes a more robust set of rules about when permission is needed. **Affects**  - [ ] Designer - [ ] Blocks editor - [x] Companion - [x] Compiled apps - [ ] Buildserver - [ ] Debugging - [ ] Other... (please describe) **Expected behavior**  App Inventor should not prompt the user for permission to read external files if none is actually needed. **Steps to reproduce**  See [this thread](https://community.appinventor.mit.edu/t/the-image-component-requests-read-permission-for-the-asd-on-android-10/60212?u=ewpatton)