Android Storage Permissions Explained

On this page
  1. Scoped media permissions
  2. Legacy storage access
  3. Advertising permissions
  4. Revoking permissions

Scoped media permissions

Since Android 13, apps request narrow, type-specific permissions — READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, and READ_MEDIA_AUDIO — rather than one broad storage permission. Free AI Storage uses these to scan only the media types relevant to cleanup.

Legacy storage access

On older Android versions, the app falls back to READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, capped to those legacy OS versions, to provide the same scanning functionality.

Advertising permissions

The AD_ID permission lets the app participate in Google's advertising identifier system for AdMob. ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE lets the app check connectivity before attempting to load an ad.

Revoking permissions

You can review or revoke any permission at any time from Android Settings → Apps → Free AI Storage → Permissions. Revoking media permissions will limit which file types the app can scan.

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