Google is making a change in Android 11 that will force all the applications on your mobile to use built-in camera application for images and videos instead of other third-party camera applications, and users will not be able to select default camera app in some specific situations. Now, Google has confirmed this and the company has also explained why the upcoming version of Android will force applications to use the built-in camera app.
On August 17, the Android engineering team stated that they think it is the right trade-off to protect the security as well as the privacy of users. The team wrote that applications that need to use a camera app will have to explicitly name each third-party camera application they would like to support. The company explained that this change in Android 11 will keep bad actors from harvesting the location data of users.
With this change, it seems that the company is taking away the freedom of allowing people to choose from third-party camera applications to take images or clips on behalf of other apps. Previously, if someone wanted to use a camera in an Android application that is not created for photography, Android OS offered a camera picker that allows users to choose a camera app such as the built-in app or third-party apps such as Snapchat.
However, Google is removing the camera picker in Android 11 and you will be forced to use the stock camera application. If you are a person who anyway chooses the default camera app, this change will not be a big deal, however, for those who rely on third-party camera apps like G Cam or Snapchat for pictures and videos, this obviously is not good news. It is important to note that users will still be able to use third-party apps by opening them from the home screen of their smartphones, and for apps that have built-in cameras such as the Instagram app or TikTok app, users can still take photos and videos with those apps.
The company has cited the new change as a privacy measure. For instance, if a person downloaded a malicious camera app unknowingly, they might end up sharing personal pictures while using such apps. Images are often geo-tagged and a non-camera application might steal this data by piggybacking on a third-party camera application. This change is important as it means that third-party camera applications can’t access your location data.
Read next: Google Can Now Recreate Landmarks In 3D With Crowdsourced Photos Only
On August 17, the Android engineering team stated that they think it is the right trade-off to protect the security as well as the privacy of users. The team wrote that applications that need to use a camera app will have to explicitly name each third-party camera application they would like to support. The company explained that this change in Android 11 will keep bad actors from harvesting the location data of users.
With this change, it seems that the company is taking away the freedom of allowing people to choose from third-party camera applications to take images or clips on behalf of other apps. Previously, if someone wanted to use a camera in an Android application that is not created for photography, Android OS offered a camera picker that allows users to choose a camera app such as the built-in app or third-party apps such as Snapchat.
However, Google is removing the camera picker in Android 11 and you will be forced to use the stock camera application. If you are a person who anyway chooses the default camera app, this change will not be a big deal, however, for those who rely on third-party camera apps like G Cam or Snapchat for pictures and videos, this obviously is not good news. It is important to note that users will still be able to use third-party apps by opening them from the home screen of their smartphones, and for apps that have built-in cameras such as the Instagram app or TikTok app, users can still take photos and videos with those apps.
The company has cited the new change as a privacy measure. For instance, if a person downloaded a malicious camera app unknowingly, they might end up sharing personal pictures while using such apps. Images are often geo-tagged and a non-camera application might steal this data by piggybacking on a third-party camera application. This change is important as it means that third-party camera applications can’t access your location data.
Read next: Google Can Now Recreate Landmarks In 3D With Crowdsourced Photos Only
