What you need to know
- Google developed a new System Photo Picker for enhanced privacy with Android 13.
- It allows users to select specific photos from the device instead of the whole library while sharing with apps.
- The nifty feature is available to try Chrome 105 (Dev and Canary build).
Google has introduced a new System-wide Photo Picker in Android 13 that works slightly differently than the existing system-wide interface. With the current one, apps tend to access all your photo libraries on the device. The new one on Android 13 aims at enhanced privacy and offers a more organized view of photos and albums. The Chrome browser appears to be enabling this feature internally, as its latest build suggests.
According to the Google News Telegram channel (@google_nws), Chrome 105 is said to be utilizing this feature and is spotted on the current builds of Chrome Dev and Canary. The builds feature a new flag dubbed "Android Media Picker." Turning it on will seemingly trigger the new System Photo Picker instead of the conventional built-in tool.
The new photo picker capability appears to only be available on Android 13 for now, although it was included in a previous Google Play system update. Google previously stated that it would be available on Android 11 phones and above.
Meanwhile, Chrome Dev and Canary build users on devices running Android 13 can utilize this feature by heading over to the link to flag: chrome://flags/#android-media-picker.
As Google explains, the new photo picker offers "a standard and optimized way for users to share both local and cloud-based photos securely," with apps only gaining access to the images you select as opposed to your entire library.
With stable Android 13 on the horizon, we'll likely see the photo picker pop up in more places. We're expecting the new Android update to start arriving on the best Android phones later this year.
