weasel Such a mess. I had no idea there was a “Files” permission, that the Gallery app uses it, and now my p8’s behavior depends on it. Doesn’t this just prove how random permissions get shoved onto us for who‑knows‑what reasons? That line, “Your device needs this permission to operate,” feels like a straight‑up lie if it is the people pushing it are lying too. How did everything work fine before the update that introduced this permission?
Anyway, why on earth would my phone need the Gallery to have Files permission when I can completely disable the Gallery app and everything still runs?
If you go to Settings > Security & privacy > Privacy controls > Permission manager, you’ll see the new Files permission. You can’t restrict the Gallery there anymore.
I tried restricting the Gallery under Music & audio, and now in Files it shows up as “Not allowed,” but if you open the Gallery, the toggle for Files is still turned on.
That part isn’t a big deal—it doesn’t actually show any files. Even after I rolled back those changes, the Gallery still doesn’t display any files.
What really bugs me is that even with Storage scopes turned on, I keep getting a system toast saying all storage permissions are denied, yet apps can still access storage. This happens on any system app under Settings > Apps > Special access > All files access—the toggle stays on, even if you enable Storage scopes. The flaw is obvious: the toggle for access never gets turned off, which means Storage scopes aren’t as airtight as they’re supposed to be.