Do no require write storage permission to downloading files on devices with Android 11 and above

[Amejia481]

In devices with Android 11 and above we are using the scoped storage api and we are only writing to the public download directory that doesn't require any additional permission. We could waive the permission requirements for these devices as it's not needed.

┆Issue is synchronized with this Jira Task

[czlucius]

May I work on this issue?

[Amejia481]

Please, do so :)
If you need any help just let me know.

Mostly we have to skip the checks for permissions when we are on Android 11 and above.

[czlucius]

The write storage permission is completely not required(not used at all in the downloads component)? Are there other areas that use this write permission even in >= API 30? If not, I can add maxSdkVersion to the permission in the Android Manifest.

I have removed checks for the permission by editing permissions in AndroidDownloadManager, which the other classes all refer to to request for this permission.

[czlucius]

What do I do for the PR checklist? How do I run the test/what tests do I need to create?

Thank you.

[czlucius]

I have made a PR for this issue: #10686

[Amejia481]

maxSdkVersion

I'll have to double check, but I think It won't be a problem as for now we are only writing to the public downloads directory, but maybe when we allow to change the download directory could cause issues mozilla-mobile/fenix#5764.

[Amejia481]

What do I do for the PR checklist?

The checklist is just for reference of what all PRs should have, when you complete an you just have to check it.

How do I run the test/what tests do I need to create?

I would focus on creating tests for the module that you changed (feature-downloads), making sure we don't require the permission on devices with Android 11.

For running test for feature-downloads you can use:
./gradlew :feature-downloads:testDebug

You can find more information here. This documentation could help you to have a better idea of how to work with Android Components locally. On CI, they should run on every PR you can see each task on the "Checks" Tab on GitHub.

[czlucius]

maxSdkVersion

I'll have to double check, but I think It won't be a problem as for now we are only writing to the public downloads directory, but maybe when we allow to change the download directory could cause issues mozilla-mobile/fenix#5764.

Ok.
But I think the permission is deprecated on newer Android versions (>=11) and no longer grants any permissions.
https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage#permissions-target-11

If there is a need to choose the download directory, the Storage Access Framework needs to be used to pick the directory

[Amejia481]

👍🏽

[czlucius]

I keep on receiving this error while building:

Gradle sync failed: Unrecognized Android Studio (or Android Support plugin for IntelliJ IDEA) version '202.7660.26.42.7486908', please retry with version 2020.3.1 or newer.

Here's my Android Studio configuration:
Android Studio 4.2.2
Build #AI-202.7660.26.42.7486908, built on June 24, 2021
Runtime version: 11.0.8+0-b944-P17168821 amd64
VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM by N/A
Linux 5.4.0-77-generic
GC: G1 Young Generation, G1 Old Generation
Memory: 1280M
Cores: 8
Registry: external.system.auto.import.disabled=true
Non-Bundled Plugins: QAPlug, com.intellij.marketplace, com.thoughtworks.gauge, org.jetbrains.kotlin, org.intellij.plugins.markdown
Current Desktop: LXQt

It seems that the version of my installation is equal to the unknown version, but somehow building seems to fail.

[hkaancaliskan]

@czlucius team is currently working on Jetpack Compose, maybe you should try with Android Studio canary version 🤷

[czlucius]

Noted. Thanks.

[Amejia481]

Sorry about that, as @hakkikaancaliskan mentioned we trying to integrate Jetpack Compose and it requires

• Java 11 (when invoking Gradle on the command line)
• Android Studio - Arctic Fox [RC 1](comes with Java 11 bundled)
• Everything else should be downloaded by Gradle as needed

[czlucius]

Hi
I've added some tests to the PR, is there anything else I need to do?
Thanks.

[Amejia481]

Thanks @czlucius, no the tests were the last requirements. I'll take a look :)