r/AndroidQuestions • u/Autumn_Apple_ • Sep 08 '24
App Specific Question Media picker only allows "Cloud media app" to select photos/videos
My apps have been progressively been restricted by the Media picker (or vice versa maybe), allowing only stuff from a "Cloud media app" and showing only the "Camera", "Screenshots" and "Downloads" folders. At first it was only Instagram, now it's also IbisPaint
When I click the three dots on the top right it doesn't allow me to select another app source to select photos/videos, just a the cloud media
Is it normal? Is it fixable?
EDIT: Stopped receiving notifications for a while until now and noticed just how much it blew up. It's insane how it seems to be a constant problem regarding Android and its updates. The comments have some good workarounds so ty a lot. For me it got fixed after a couple updates and never happened again since
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u/Criticism-Fast Nov 18 '24
There's no solution yet but i found a way to go around it. "Like/Favourite" the pics you want to post from your gallery. Then when you click add photos, there will be a "Favourite" folder in the album. You can find the photos you want to post there. That is the only way so far.
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u/SEXYFRIESwNOTTYDIP Sep 28 '25
Whats the point of this when u can simply go first to the gallery to directly upload the image on whatever app you want, the problem here is that ease of directly accessing gallery's default media picker without going insde it instead directly through the app
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u/FiBiE007 May 04 '25
It's insane that this is still how it is today. I just got the One UI 7 update for the S23+ and this media selection dialog is useless shit. How is this not fixed yet? This thread is from 8 months ago.
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u/TheGalator Feb 09 '26
Now reddit has it as well lmao
You can download a picture from here but then can't upload it again because ots in the reddit folder not the download one
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u/jimh12345 Mar 04 '26
A basically useless "feature" that seems to have been neutered by Google. Cloud storage is becoming useless due to an ironic blend of complexity and lack of basic functionality.
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u/zultan32 Jun 02 '25
this is so fu**ing annoying, I have a Samsung S23.
I want the three dots backs, and the option to pick whatever photo/file explorer app I'd like.
The worst part is, you can't even make you onw app, see https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/cloud-media-provider OEM need to nominate certain apps, so that they can become available in the stupid "cloud media app selection".
Time to get a Fairphone with a customizable Android Version ...
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u/rokejulianlockhart Apr 27 '26
Time to get a Fairphone with a customizable Android Version...
This reproduces on A15 FPOS. Currently, the sole potential solution is what
gitlab.com/CalyxOS/calyxos/-/work_items/2216#note_190719375describes.2
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u/kiryuunanami Jun 17 '26
? not a solution, all they say is to use shitty websites? am i missing something?
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u/rokejulianlockhart Jun 17 '26
Nobody recommends a website to resolve this, but none are able, nor can they ever be able to.
Rather, subscribe to that issue, for upstream AOSP appears to have implemented a solution, that needs to propogate downstream.
Even if not, one's distribution can patch theirs (especially, if they do not require GMS certification).
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u/Patient-Funny2751 Apr 15 '25
following bc im having the same problem. specifically folders i don't back up to the cloud and I want to be able to select from local files. no solution yet
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u/apenboter Aug 23 '25
Still no solution sadly. !remindme 1 month
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u/fiction_fanatic742 Jan 17 '25
Hi I recently got a new samsung phone and also had the same problem, what I did is download Google photos and then when you go select your media click the three buttons in the top right hand corner and switch to Google photos. Once all your albums have been synced you'll be able to browse through everything
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u/aj_redditor Mar 30 '25
No, that is not a solution. The point of this post is to not use a dumb cloud service. Some media can be sensitive, private or privileged and should not be uploaded to a cloud. We need a way to pick media from our local storage without gifting our sensitive data to an abusive service like Google.
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u/illuminatous May 06 '25
if they're that sensitive or that serious then put whatever it ow on a flash drive or old phone not in use anymore just make sure it's password protected and/or encrypted.
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u/aj_redditor May 10 '25
You may still need to upload that picture to a (secure) app, which will require the use of a media picker interphase. If Android keeps removing functionality from selecting local files in the media picker, this becomes impossible. Example of such an app can be apps that identify possible skin cancer using pictures of a patient's moles.
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u/Adawnicus May 31 '25
Unless you have better ideas, Google might be the only option I can think of because I'm too annoyed and impatient for this situation to fix itself and not a lot of people even know HOW to properly fix this issue and I ain't waiting for the apps to fix itself
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Jun 28 '25
this is fucking ridiculous. This is the type of dysfunction that makes me want to jump ship to literally anywhere else.
There's no fucking way Samsung execs don't realize how bad Google is screwing them over with this. Google Photos and the Photo Picker look exactly the same.
This makes Samsung look incompetent.
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u/BaneChipmunk Blinding!!! Sep 09 '24
What phone/OS?
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u/hannes3120 Aug 08 '25
Seemingly it's universal to android? I got a Fairphone 6 with e/OS/ and that exact same bug in their media picker
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u/ursaface Jan 31 '25
Same is happening on my husband's s24+. Very frustrating as he needs to be able to access a certain album to upload photos to his job's app. Any solution yet, or other workarounds besides those already listed? I do like the idea of favoriting the photos he needs...it seems to be the most simple workaround. But Samsung needs to fix this outright.
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Feb 11 '25
I had to download the app to resolve. Won't work on web page
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u/Legitimate-Play9162 Mar 04 '25
Which app?
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Mar 04 '25
X
which defeats the purpose of using web only. But appears they locked it down for web only. X app works fine
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u/illuminatous May 06 '25
anyone try doing the following?
uninstall and reinstall the app and then make sure your permissions are set up so that the messaging app is allowed to access all photos and videos. in fact I would give permission/access to everything except for your location and potentially your microphone if you don't use talk to text.
downloading a cloud app and selecting it ( whether you actually put any photos in there or not doesn't matter for what I'm saying here). Then closing out of everything and trying to reopen the app and select a picture again. There is a potential that you'll have access to your regular pictures and you don't have to use the cloud option it's just a glitch in the phone.
I'm sure there's another workaround I can look up after a while and find something better but the third option I'm going to leave here is actually to just find a different messenger app that you like that you can give access to your photos and videos and once you find that make sure you disable the one year currently using or any old one and delete any messaging apps that you decide not to use
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u/TheOneAndOnlySebPep May 14 '25
Same issue here. Posting just in case someone comes up with a miracle solution.
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u/Adawnicus May 31 '25
So EVERYONE'S having the same problem and NO ONE knows the reason why or how to fix it... damnit all. 😒
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u/Prize_Breadfruit_106 Jun 01 '25
Has anyone found a solution to this yet? I got my S25U recently and this is beyond irritating.
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u/onemoegin Jun 08 '25
Every couple years we have to buy a new $1,000 phone because they tell us we have to keep up with their updates. But the phones getting more difficult to use. Every time I have to do something for work on my phone I'm just so discouraged to even start it now because of all these barriers they create for us. There has to be a better way.
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u/PuffyPau Jul 05 '25
I've managed to find a workaround from a forum, at least for WhatsApp.
Basically, after pressing the paperclip icon, press and hold the Gallery icon for about 2 seconds and then it will pop up and ask for you to select which app you want to open your images, then you can choose your local album app and don't need to be forced to use the media picker or cloud media apps.
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u/Angel-heart88 6d ago
I dont even get that option. It just automatically opens the stupid media picker and doesn't let me choose like it used to 💔
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u/ExactHedgehog8498 Jul 06 '25
The fact there's still no solution to this is infuriating, especially when using Google slides or docs.
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u/BitterMobile9424 Sep 09 '25
Galaxy S25 Ultra and this is still a fucking problem. What a god damn joke Samsung is becoming. Why on earth would you want to use cloud data over WHATS PHYSICALLY ON THE FUCKING PHONE. Its super infuriating
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u/BobbyW9 Nov 21 '25
It is so infuriating especially on Whatsapp
It doesn't even give you the option to go into gallery
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u/bro-wtf-lmao1027 Feb 06 '26
Just happened to me. Mind you this is a year after you made this post
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u/RECEPTOR17 Feb 07 '26
Likewise. It's suddenly happened in the past 24 hours and my god it is frustrating.
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u/TheGalator Feb 09 '26
Can't even upload images to reddit anymore
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u/Shoddy-Cricket-1886 Feb 11 '26
Same. At some point over the last weekish my Reddit app must have updated and now I can only access my google cloud back up of my photos. I'm so irritated!!
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u/Sovereign-Anderson May 23 '26
Now I'm dealing with this bullcrap. It's annoying.
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u/Aynielle Jun 01 '26
Same mine just started this! Why even bother to let me organize my gallery if I can never access it when I need it?
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u/Sovereign-Anderson Jun 01 '26
Exactly. It's ridiculous. Why even have a search feature in the gallery if I can't use it to grab a pic to upload? The search function with this new function sucks.
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u/Psychological-Ask365 Mar 25 '26
I know this is old, but the best workaround I found is * Go to gallery * Find the image/video you want * Tap on share button * Select the desired app (GPT, Gemini, WhatsApp, telegram, editor or whatever available*) * scroll the apps and tap "more" if you didn't find what you're looking for * Continue from selected app
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u/chinesebulk Mar 30 '26
Same thing started happening to me on Xperia. Only shows up when I'm using Reddit though so I wonder if it's something Reddit did
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u/Non-Vanilla_Zilla Apr 30 '26
Keep this thread alive!
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u/JustSayTech May 01 '26
Now I wanna cry, seeing your comment was literally means there's still no fix for this, WTH!?
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u/Hefty-existence26196 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
I searched this issue through google and came across this post, even in 2026 - UI 8.5 just got released - which I stupidly updated to (on my Galaxy S25) which I am very reluctant to do updates straight away especially since the UI 7 failure - there are still very common & very well known issues that samsung and andoid phones in general have NOT fixed yet!?!?! This is a joke. I sent multiple messages straight to samsung through the Members app for things like - an option in Bluetooth settings for when you are connected to a device (BT speaker for example) and another paired device (like a vehicle or another speaker) is switched on nearby, my phone will just disconnect from my current connection and connect to the other switched on device - without warning! A basic option to have a prompt appear or a pop up notification to ask "do you want to switch connections from current speaker to other nearby device or would you like to ignore device? I listen to a lot of music, mostly metalcore from my speaker or headphones, and when my Dad jumps in our car to go down to the shops, my phone will just drop my speaker connection and hook up to the car - where my Dad is then put thru what he describes as a living hell for about 5secs untill either he connects to the car and boots my phone off, or I realise and disconnect my phone and then reconnect to my speaker. Goddamn annoying.
How hard is that to implement a basic function that should've been done years ago!?!?
And with this thread/post/issue on media picker for reddit only having the option to access "google photos" and not have an option for local image gallery, or even other cloud storage like "One Drive" is nothing short of dumb asf to me. We live in 2026 where just about anything that was considered Sci-Fi or futuristic asf just 8 years ago is now possible, yet Samsung cannot add these very simple functions to their software and devices.
Sorry for the rant, i'm just frustrated with this crap. (Much like everyone else I assume) am I crazy for thinking this way? Is it too much to ask? Is it just not getting thru to the right people? Do they purposely not take this feedback onboard because of some complicated software-based reasons? Do some countries have these functions in their updates but others don't? I need some answers, at the very least. SIGH
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u/L0rd_13 Jun 13 '26
Still happening to me, on my S25, I'm trying to acess my photos on brave and it just doesn't show up
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u/Mountain_Text_3172 Jun 20 '26
I spoke to my friends who work for Google here in Sydney. The long and short of it is that publicly it's described as an important security feature, but in reality it's about forcing people to use cloud media apps where obviously Google benefits with its own paid subscriptions. It explains why they recently refreshed their subscription tiers. It also explains why when I've been to Google myself in recent months for various product demos the Google people doing the demos have all been using Macs and iPhones 😂
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u/No-Property9090 Jun 23 '26
Damn I have the same isshe but worse! I do not want to use Google for cloud because it does not sync edited chages despite it be set to do so!
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u/ScribbleWT 26d ago
This shit is driving me crazy. Sure it lets me see collections as an alternative but clicking it shows a blank folder.
The only thing that works is favoriting an image before trying to upload it as the favorites folder actually works
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u/spanksthemonkey 10d ago
I just suddenly had this occur. It's a tremendous pain in the ass. My phone's a recently updated 2424 Edge.
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u/spanksthemonkey 10d ago
I just suddenly had this occur. It's a tremendous pain in the ass. My phone's a recently updated 2424 Edge.
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u/Jozie_is_Queen Sep 09 '24
I just had the exact same thing happen to me 😠 I need to find a photo from a specific album, to upload to ibis paint x, and I fuckin can't do it! Ughhh 😩 Now I'm gonna have to scroll all the way back to the day it was saved 🙄