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Android 4.4 Disables SD Card Access for Apps

posted by Dopefish on Wednesday February 19 2014, @08:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the my-way-or-the-highway dept.
quadrox writes:

"It used to be possible for Android apps to access any kind of storage on an android device through the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. Writing to the SD card is useful for many different kinds of apps, e.g. file managers or cloud storage synchronization. However, the latest version of Android will no longer allow apps to write anywhere on external storage media, instead apps will only be allowed to access app-specific folders on SD cards. Android Police has an excellent writeup of the changes and the implications for users."

[ED Note: This is bound to irritate power users that rely on their SD cards for additional device storage.]

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by mindriot on Wednesday February 19 2014, @08:55AM

    by mindriot (928) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @08:55AM (#2390)

    How about PDFs I store on my external SD card, synchronize with my work laptop, and occasionally annotate in Acrobat while on the go on my phone? What if I switch PDF readers because some other one offers better annotation capabilities? What about my timesheet app which can export to various spreadsheet and text formats, to be edited by me before e-mailed off?

    I'm all for sandboxing apps' internal data, but if I store stuff on my external SD card, then I want to at least have the option of having a neutral common file area. Which just stores files, instead of locking them into a particular app. Let it be my business if I want to work on files using different apps.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by dilbert on Wednesday February 19 2014, @09:00AM

    by dilbert (444) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @09:00AM (#2399)
    +1 mod parent up.

    I know the average user has the IQ of a ground squirrel, so google tries to protect them from themselves, but those of us who know how to actually use a 'pocket computer that also makes calls' shouldn't be limited by sandboxing all of an apps data.

    Perhaps they could make it an option in the settings, like how they (currently) allow apps to be side loaded by changing one setting.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by zocalo on Wednesday February 19 2014, @09:07AM

    by zocalo (302) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @09:07AM (#2408)
    That's my (possible) beef with this too, although I do think the general concept is a good move from a security perspective. I move my SD card of data between several devices, most of which do not run Android, so now I'm going to have to use some obscure directory name to locate my files instead of what I, the *user*, want?

    This either needs to be optional, or (perhaps a better option) there needs to be a public directory on the SD which is a free for all storage area for general data alongside the app specific stuff. App specific stuff can still be locked away where it can't be tampered with by $rogue_app, but leave the storage of my documents and data up to me please, Google.
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  • (Score: 1) by mmcmonster on Wednesday February 19 2014, @10:17AM

    by mmcmonster (401) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @10:17AM (#2468)

    Hopefully a neutral folder on the SD card will develop as the application writers find they don't live on a desert island.

    Maybe a Documents Folder with standard set of subfolders for Photos, Documents (yes, yes, a Documents folder in a Documents folder -- Any better ideas?), eBooks, Music, Videos, etc.

    • (Score: 2, Funny) by stigmata on Wednesday February 19 2014, @11:46AM

      by stigmata (1856) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @11:46AM (#2535)

      Where do MY documents go? I don't want just any "Documents" I want "My Documents". And "My Music", "My Pictures", and "My Videos".

    • (Score: 1) by cykros on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:04AM

      by cykros (989) on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:04AM (#3188)

      Better ideas? Yes. Call the parent Document directory "Home". Oh wait, that's what *nix has been doing since the 70s.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by threedigits on Wednesday February 19 2014, @12:20PM

    by threedigits (607) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @12:20PM (#2562)

    Apparently only write permission is being restricted, thus applications can still read the whole SD card, but only write/delete in very specific places.

    This has two beneffits, namely: (1) applications will not left cruft behind when removed, and (2) they will not be able to erase or modify each other files.

    Sounds almost like a good idea...

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by mindriot on Wednesday February 19 2014, @03:29PM

      by mindriot (928) on Wednesday February 19 2014, @03:29PM (#2756)
      I think I could live with that as long as I can purposely make exceptions, e.g. for file manager apps. I guess it's fair enough to have default settings that will be safe for most people, but at least keep the access to power user settings available (behind an "I know what I'm doing" checkbox if you must). I don't like being treated like I'm stupid...
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