Android Media Files Sharing

When To Use

• Use this skill when the request is about: android file sharing, photo picker android app, fileprovider setup android.
• Primary outcome: Use modern Android file, media, picker, FileProvider, and share-sheet APIs with minimal permissions.
• Reach for this skill when the core problem is content URIs, share-sheet flows, picker choice, or app-to-app file exchange. Use android-permissions-activity-results only when the hard part is the runtime permission flow itself.
• Handoff skills when the scope expands:
• android-permissions-activity-results
• android-security-best-practices

Workflow

1. Start with the asset movement path: pick existing media, open a document, create/export a file, capture new content, or share app-owned content to another app.
2. Choose the narrowest platform surface first: Photo Picker, SAF contracts, FileProvider, or chooser-based sharing before considering broad storage permissions.
3. Keep file ownership and URI grants explicit with app-private storage, MIME types, temporary grants, and stable authorities.
4. Validate return flows, absent-capability fallbacks, and recipient-app interoperability instead of testing only the happy path.
5. Hand off runtime permission complexity or deeper hardening only after the URI and sharing contract is correct.

Guardrails

• Prefer Photo Picker, SAF, and chooser APIs over broad media or storage permissions where possible.
• Share content with content:// URIs and temporary grants, never raw file paths.