Google I / O 2021 starts on May 18 next month, and at the event we expect to see Google announcing all the features coming on Android 12. Before the event began, we collected as much information as possible on the latest version of the system. operation from the two publicly available Developer Previews. The other day, I got my hands on a new version of Android 12 and presented many of the smaller functional and design changes I could find. After digging through the system framework and applications, I saw the code suggesting that Google might show the hidden Trash / Android Trash feature in the storage settings.
A removal of the APK can often predict features that may appear in a future update of an application, but any of the features mentioned here may not do so in a future release. This is because these features are currently not implemented in the live version and can be extracted at any time by the developers in a future version.
Last year, Google launched Android 11, which required major changes in the way apps can access a device’s storage space. These changes, which Google calls “Scoped Storage,” significantly limit the amount of storage access that an application can gain by default. While some applications, such as file managers, may require wide access to a device’s storage space, other applications must use alternate APIs to add, open, edit, or delete files from storage. One of these APIs is called the MediaStore API and provides access to common media files, such as audio, video, and images. MediaStore has actually been around for a while, but Google has added a new feature to the Android 11 API: the trash.
Applications that use the MediaStore API can trash, rather than delete a file, to give users a chance to restore the file later. Most desktop operating systems have a similar feature, but Android 11 itself does not offer a system-wide “Recycle Bin” or “Trash” folder that lists all files that have been trashed. Instead, apps with edit access to trash files or that require user consent can display items in the hidden trash, and we’ve found evidence that Google Files by Google is preparing to add such a feature.
The Hidden Trash folder in the Google Files application.
With Android 12, though, it looks like Google is working to add a new entry in Settings> Storage to show how much storage space all items in the trash take up. Touching this entry will launch a snippet that shows the number of files that have been thrown in the trash and also allows the user to empty the trash, but the entry point is normally inaccessible because Google encrypted it in false to false. However, thanks to a little effort and help from XDA Zachary Wander, we managed to get the entry point and the dialogue to appear.
Although users can empty their trash here, we don’t know if users will also be able to restore them through this entry point. However, the upcoming Files by Google Trash feature will allow users to view, restore, or permanently delete items in the trash. We would not be surprised if Google intends to launch the new feature in Files by Google at the same time as the launch of Android 12, although technically the Files by Google Trash function does not require the installation of Android 12.
Items thrown in the trash on Android are currently hidden by most file managers because they are prefaced with a “.” in their file name, which is how Android understands that a file should be considered hidden. These files hidden in the trash are stored in the same directory where they were originally placed, rather than being moved to a Recycle Bin / Trash folder. Based on what we know, it doesn’t look like Google intends to add a real Trash / Trash folder to Android 12, but it does seem that Google at least intends to make the Trash a more prominent feature. The only problem is that apps need to use the MediaStore API to mark files as “trash”, so some apps will continue to permanently delete files or use their own trash, preventing users from viewing and viewing them. restore to an easily accessible location.
Thanks to PNF Software for providing us with a license to use JEB decompiler, a professional-grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.