File Reader — Permissions Transparency

SYSTEM_PROTOCOL: RUNTIME_PERMISSION_DISCLOSURE

Why Permissions Are Required

As a universal file manager and document viewer, File Reader only requests the minimum operating system permissions strictly necessary to index and display the files you instruct it to open.

Android Operating System Permissions

READ_MEDIA_IMAGESAndroid 13+ (API 33+)

Purpose: Allows File Reader to browse, generate thumbnails for, and open image files (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG, TIFF, and RAW camera formats) stored on your device.

READ_MEDIA_VIDEOAndroid 13+ (API 33+)

Purpose: Enables in-app previewing and hardware-accelerated playback of local video files (MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WebM) through the built-in media player.

READ_MEDIA_AUDIOAndroid 13+ (API 33+)

Purpose: Allows the app to index music, recordings, and audio files (MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG) and provide playback with waveform scrubbing.

READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTEDAndroid 14+ (API 34+)

Purpose: Ensures partial photo/video picker compatibility on Android 14+ if you prefer granting selective access to individual media files rather than whole folders.

READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGEAndroid 12 & Below (maxSdkVersion 32)

Purpose: Required exclusively on legacy Android versions (API 32 and below) to allow reading documents (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Text, and Archives). Ignored on Android 13+.

Permissions We Explicitly DO NOT Request

android.permission.INTERNET: OMITTED

MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: OMITTED

CAMERA & RECORD_AUDIO: OMITTED

ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION: OMITTED

READ_CONTACTS & READ_SMS: OMITTED

WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: OMITTED

AUDITED: SEPTEMBER 2026