How to transfer files/photos/text between owner profile and Private space

bayerelm

I'm really enjoying this new Private space feature, but there is still one thing I haven't really figured out : how to transfer files, photos or texts from the owner profile to the private space or vice-versa.
The very low-tech dumb way I usually do this between user profiles is via a usb thumb, but it seems that Private space cannot see external storage devices.
Of course I could use some kind of cloud service, but I'd rather not rely on having my files on a 3rd party server just for this.
Syncthing would be a decent option I suppose. But I'm wondering if people here have figured something else out for this.

Thanks in advance for your help and good job to the GoS team for all they do!

fid02

bayerelm The very low-tech dumb way I usually do this between user profiles is via a usb thumb, but it seems that Private space cannot see external storage devices.

It can. However, the AOSP Files app in Private Space appears unable to detect external USB drives. The system file picker on the other hand detects external drives just fine. If you try with the proprietary app Files by Google in Private Space, you will see that it's able to handle external drives just fine. This was discovered during the time the first releases based on Android 15 were released to alpha, so I assume the developers are aware (but I don't speak for the GrapheneOS project).

m4ri0g

private espace is an aosp feature.

you can share the file and choose the private espace;

i found this subreddit post addressing the same question;
https://www.reddit.com/r/android_beta/comments/1dsh7zx/possible_to_transfer_files_to_private_space/?rdt=41389

hth

bayerelm

m4ri0g

That sharing feature from local storage is the kind of solution I was looking for, thank you ! Pretty neat really.

For anyone else, just to clarify this is how you do it :

Unlock the private space
Go to the "real" owner profile's Files app (could work on 3rd party file browsers too, didn't check)
Select the file you want and use the "share" button. From there, you can select the "Private" tab to see the apps in the Private Space that accept the previously selected file.

So this doesn't really transfer the file from the owner profile to the private space stricto sensu, but it makes it possible to share something that is stored on the owner profile inside an app that's in the private space.

DeletedUser76

It seems like there's no private way to transfer files between the "private space" and the host at this moment. Although you can transfer the files using a cloud, for me it's not an option because I can't set up a VPN (Either by the store or apk) before connecting to the internet inside the private space. I hope GrapheneOS developers makes a feature for transfering files between these two. Right now I'm just using the multiple users feature... at least I can transfer file between users by USB.

safeandsecure8373

bayerelm When completing step 3, under the private tab the only private space app listed I can transfer files to is "Print." Neither the Graphene OS Files or Gallery apps are listed as an option to share to despite both already being installed in the private space by default. Any ideas why it's not an option?

calpurtmun

I use Save On Device which lets you share a file from Owner's Files app directly to Private Space's Files app and vice versa. No internet or permissions required.

poelog

hemlockiv calpurtmun these are the real answers, both work great I think "Save On Device" is more user friendly, but I noticed "Inter Profile Sharing" has communication encryption.

I don't know why encryption is necessary in this context, does anyone know pros and cons of each app?

ryrona

And I will wait until there is MTP support in private space or something similar before switching over. I need to be able to transfer files between private space and my computer, without the files touching the main profile or any unencrypted USB stick.

But GrapheneOS developers have not promised any such feature, as not even stock Android has it. So maybe private space won't be useful for me at all, even if I were looking forward to it a lot since it would simplify things for me a lot.

hemlockiv

There's also an app in the Accrescent store called "Inter Profile Sharing" that makes it relatively convenient to share files between device profiles. You must install it (and enable Notifs) on every profile you want to share between

ryrona

poelog I don't know why encryption is necessary in this context, does anyone know pros and cons of each app?

I assume Inter Profile Sharing is implementing its functionality by exploiting a known security vulnerability in Android and GrapheneOS, namely that localhost connections are possible between user profiles. That such localhost connections are possible breaks the isolation guarantees separate user profiles are supposed to give. This is an oversight in the implementation. Essentially, apps can communicate freely across profiles if they exploit this vulnerability, as if they were actually installed on the same profile. I am assuming this security vulnerability will eventually be patched by GrapheneOS, which will cause that app to stop working, so I guess that would count as a con. I guess the encryption they do is more a way to authenticate the other app, to prevent a malicious app in yet another profile from receiving the data instead by also exploiting the same vulnerability.

Save On Device on the other hand uses standard Android media sharing functionality just like intended, so I guess that would be a pro. But that of course will only work between owner profile and private space, not between secondary user profiles.

I haven't used either app.

de0u

ryrona It might be feasible to add a permission for loopback access.

Killjoy

There are 2 feature requests for this:
https://github.com/GrapheneOS/os-issue-tracker/issues/4256
https://github.com/GrapheneOS/os-issue-tracker/issues/5185