Nextcloud Faces Access Restrictions in Google Play Due to Security Concerns

Developers of the open-source collaboration platform Nextcloud have reported that Google has restricted permissions for full file access in the Nextcloud mobile app, which has over one million installations, under the guise of security concerns. The project team believes that this action by Google was deliberate and aimed at its own interests, rather than being a genuine effort to protect users.

At Google’s request, the Nextcloud app must not seek full file access permissions to be distributed through the Google Play Store. For example, in the version available on the F-Droid catalog, the permissions remain intact; however, the majority of Nextcloud users utilize the app from Google Play.

According to information from OpenNET, the Nextcloud team has appealed to Google, explaining that the functionality for accessing all files is essential for file synchronization across systems and providing users with file-sharing capabilities. Such operations form the core functionality of Nextcloud and represent its competitive advantages.

The Nextcloud app has been available on Google Play since 2016 and has not previously raised any privacy concerns.

In response to the Nextcloud team’s inquiries, Google Play support provided only generic replies that quoted a section from the developer’s guidelines, suggesting migration to different APIs that would ensure confidential data handling. The recommended new APIs are unsuitable for Nextcloud’s needs; for instance, the Storage Access Framework (SAF) is designed for file sharing between different apps, while the MediaStore API focuses solely on multimedia files.

Ultimately, the project team managed to release a new version of the app on Google Play only after complying with the requirements and utilizing the MediaStore API for handling photos and videos. However, for other file types, uploading from Android devices to Nextcloud is now impossible if the app is installed from Google Play. Users are advised to use the version available in the F-Droid catalog to bypass this limitation.