Google Play’s Photo and Video Permissions Policy

Attention Android Developers!

By October 31, 2024:

If your application uses READ_MEDIA_IMAGES or READ_MEDIA_VIDEO and falls into the following categories:

• Social
• Communication
• Photo/video editor
• Others that require broad access, such as photo editors, user-generated content platforms, image search features, QR code scanners, and similar

This means your application’s core functionality involves frequent or persistent access to the gallery (images, videos).

Developers in these categories are required to submit a declaration, pass an appropriate access review, and demonstrate a core use case that necessitates this level of access.

However, if your application does not meet these criteria, you will need to remove the READ_MEDIA_IMAGES or READ_MEDIA_VIDEO permissions and instead use the Photo Picker.

To launch the Photo Picker, use the following activity result contracts:

• PickVisualMedia to select a single image or video.
• PickMultipleVisualMedia to select multiple images or videos.

If your application has not migrated to AndroidX, you cannot use the new ActivityContracts. In this case, you can use ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT with type = “image/*” or type = “video/*” to mimic the same flow.

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT);
intent.setType("image/*");
intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE);
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
intent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_SCREEN_ORIENTATION, ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT);
intent.putExtra("return-data", true);

For detailed information, visit Photo Picker