Timeout on Android Chrome Browser for st.file_uploader, cant upload file

[adamp87]

Checklist

• I have searched the existing issues for similar issues.
• I added a very descriptive title to this issue.
• I have provided sufficient information below to help reproduce this issue.

Summary

The st.file_uploader widget on mobile phones exhibits a timeout issue specifically when tested on Android using the Chrome browser. If there is a delay (e.g., around 15 seconds) after opening a file selection application and before selecting a file, the widget fails to upload properly. The issue can be reproduced using the example provided in the official documentation:
Streamlit File Uploader Documentation.

Reproducible Code Example

# use official demo
# https://docs.streamlit.io/develop/api-reference/widgets/st.file_uploader

import streamlit as st

uploaded_files = st.file_uploader(
    "Choose a CSV file", accept_multiple_files=True
)
for uploaded_file in uploaded_files:
    bytes_data = uploaded_file.read()
    st.write("filename:", uploaded_file.name)

Steps To Reproduce

• Open a mobile browser on an Android device (tested with Chrome).
• Visit the official Streamlit documentation for st.file_uploader:
• URL: https://docs.streamlit.io/develop/api-reference/widgets/st.file_uploader.
• Scroll down to the example for st.file_uploader.
• On the widget, click the "Browse files" button, which prompts Android to ask which application to use.
• Select any file management app (e.g., Samsung's File Browser) but wait for 15 seconds before choosing a file.
• Select a file from the file manager app and confirm.

Expected Behavior

On mobile phone, after selecting the file in the file manager app, the uploaded file name should appear in the Streamlit app, as expected.

Current Behavior

• On mobile phone, when waiting 15 seconds before selecting the file, the Streamlit app shows "connecting" after selecting the file and then fails to display the uploaded file name.
• On mobile phone, if a file is selected immediately without delay, the widget works as expected, file name is displayed, and no timeout occurs.

Is this a regression?

• Yes, this used to work in a previous version.

Debug info

• Device: Samsung S24
• OS: Android 15.0
• Browser: Chrome 136.0.7103.125
• Python version: 3.10
• Streamlit Version: 1.45.0
• Internet Connection: Stable WiFi during testing.

Additional Information

• This issue seems time-sensitive and suggests a possible timeout behavior when Android switches between File Manager App and the Browser.
• No issues observed on desktop browsers with the same testing process.

[github-actions]

If this issue affects you, please react with a 👍 (thumbs up emoji) to the initial post.

Your feedback helps us prioritize which bugs to investigate and address first.

[sfc-gh-nbellante]

Hi @adamp87 , thanks for filing this issue. We've been able to reproduce it and will look into a fix.

[lukasmasuch]

Update

The upcoming release - 1.52 - will use a timeout of 60 seconds on Android. While it doesn't fully fix the issue, it makes it a lot less annoying to upload files since I think most file choosing operations can be completed within 60 seconds. Therefore, I'm changing the priority from P2 to P3 since there is less urgency needed to address this issue with this change.