Google has introduced the Photo Picker API with Android 13, and the company is now improving its Photos Picker by making it mandatory in Android 14. This gives apps access to your Photo Apps, and with this app, users don’t need to request permission to get access to the photos, but they need to select which photos and apps they want to share with the app.
The Photo Picker API was a significant update over the System File Picker, which was introduced with Android 4.4. Even after years, many apps still don’t support the Photo Picker for various reasons, but now it will be improved with Android 14.
Many apps use the Media Store API, where they don’t need to ask for permission to modify or read files they have created. Now, they don’t need to grant permission for their own files.
Android 14 will change the permission for media access once again, and now apps will ask you to select a photo, which will open a new Photo Picker. Users will need to pick from the app, meaning only specific chosen files will be accessible by the other app, and they won’t need to share their complete library.
In the permission, you have a new option, and on the popup permission, there will be a new permission option called Allow Selected Photos. Yes, users still have access to give full permission for all Photos. Developers should start integrating the Photo Picker API from the Jetpack activity library, so their app becomes compatible with the latest version, and also supports the backward-compatible version.
