Samsung seems to be in updating its smartphones to Android 4.4 adjustments have been made to the opportunities for apps to have data on the sd card to modify. So it seems it is no longer possible for apps to work outside their ‘own’ folder content can be copied.
That discovered Android Police on the basis of some Android 4.4 updates by Samsung over-the-air are distributed. In the software restrictions imposed on applications: where it used to be after permission was possible to access content on the sd card to modify, is that with the new firmwares no longer possible. Applications for the necessary permission write_external_storage questions seem now have read-only access to get to the sd card. However, it is possible to access content on the internal memory to modify with write_external_storage.
Google had previously all restrictions imposed on modifying data on the sd card by apps. This was achieved by creating a new permission called write_media_storage to obtain write access to the sd card and then to make it inaccessible to application developers. Smartphonemakers such as Samsung stop there, however, a stick for by permission write_media_storage to automatically grant the request write_external_storage, allowing developers to not have themselves had to do. This ‘tweak’ seems Samsung has thus put an end to the release of Android 4.4 roms.
The changes in Samsung’s software seem to be something to do with new requirements for sd cards and Android applications that Google simultaneously released with the release of Android 4.4. As discovered Android Police in the Android documentation that applications only write to its own folder on both the internal memory as the sd card of an Android device. For example, the app with package name com.example.foo will automatically have access to the folder Android/data/com.example.foo. Here the permission write_external_storage only grant write access to the internal memory, while for the sd card, only read access is given. In this way, apps can, therefore, ask permission to data on the internal memory and modifying it, but it remains on the sd-card is limited to a private folder for the app is created.
The new rules in Samsung’s Android 4.4 roms can cause problems for apps that content want to write to the sd card. That can include, for example, apps that allow photos to be made, or pictures or videos to be edited. Also, file managers are in their possibilities are limited. For system it is still possible to have full write access to the sd-card: for this they use so the aforementioned write_media_storage-permission.
It is unclear whether Google has asked manufacturers of Android-devices to limit the options for apps to access content on the sd card to modify. Also, it is still unclear whether other manufacturers than Samsung, the same changes will carry in their Android 4.4 roms. It is possible for the restrictions for apps be circumvented with roottoegang.
