Samsung Health data export breaks SAF (ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT)
Spent my morning debugging a really weird user report and thought I'd share this OS-level quirk, as it might save someone else a headache. I'd also love to hear how you guys handle this.
I recently released an Android DevTool (GiantJson Viewer+ with Rust engine), and an user reported that they can not see / can not open the JSON files exported by Samsung Healh when they are using my in app (SAF) file picker (standard SAF `ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT` with `*/*` ).
But if they opened the Samsung "My Files" app, the files were physically right there, and can open from there.
It seems that **Samsung Health** using a standard file I/O when writing to the public Downloads folder, **but completely forgot to invoke MediaScannerConnection.scanFile()**
Because the mediastore db is never updated, the SAF is seeing the folder is empty. The Samsung My Files app however having MANAGE\_EXTERNAL\_STORAGE and reads the disk directly :/
So far i didn't find a way if i can trigger a scan myself on folder without proper permissions, the only solution i can tell to the users to rename the parent folder to trigger the OS rescan. This actually worked fine, but not a professional answer for users to point fingers to Samsung... This is my really first app, beginner dev, every single review matters, and it feels bad to get a possibly bad review because my hands are tied.
The only thing i could do so far is that i cut a ticket in Samsung Members, explaining the issue, and hoping that they fix it
* Has anyone else run into similar "ghost files" generated by other major apps?
* Is there any programmatic way to force a MediaStore scan on a specific public directory without having the exact file paths or `MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`
* How to communicate this to the users?
https://redd.it/1rgwvl1
@reddit_androiddev
Spent my morning debugging a really weird user report and thought I'd share this OS-level quirk, as it might save someone else a headache. I'd also love to hear how you guys handle this.
I recently released an Android DevTool (GiantJson Viewer+ with Rust engine), and an user reported that they can not see / can not open the JSON files exported by Samsung Healh when they are using my in app (SAF) file picker (standard SAF `ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT` with `*/*` ).
But if they opened the Samsung "My Files" app, the files were physically right there, and can open from there.
It seems that **Samsung Health** using a standard file I/O when writing to the public Downloads folder, **but completely forgot to invoke MediaScannerConnection.scanFile()**
Because the mediastore db is never updated, the SAF is seeing the folder is empty. The Samsung My Files app however having MANAGE\_EXTERNAL\_STORAGE and reads the disk directly :/
So far i didn't find a way if i can trigger a scan myself on folder without proper permissions, the only solution i can tell to the users to rename the parent folder to trigger the OS rescan. This actually worked fine, but not a professional answer for users to point fingers to Samsung... This is my really first app, beginner dev, every single review matters, and it feels bad to get a possibly bad review because my hands are tied.
The only thing i could do so far is that i cut a ticket in Samsung Members, explaining the issue, and hoping that they fix it
* Has anyone else run into similar "ghost files" generated by other major apps?
* Is there any programmatic way to force a MediaStore scan on a specific public directory without having the exact file paths or `MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`
* How to communicate this to the users?
https://redd.it/1rgwvl1
@reddit_androiddev
Reddit
From the androiddev community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the androiddev community
Under the hood: Android 17’s lock-free MessageQueue
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/under-hood-android-17s-lock-free.html?m=1
https://redd.it/1rgg04e
@reddit_androiddev
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/under-hood-android-17s-lock-free.html?m=1
https://redd.it/1rgg04e
@reddit_androiddev
Android Developers Blog
Under the hood: Android 17’s lock-free MessageQueue
News and insights on the Android platform, developer tools, and events.
Trackazon – Real-Time Live Map Tracking for Amazon Deliveries
Hi everyone 👋
I’ve just released a beta of my Android app that improves how Amazon deliveries are tracked — especially during the “out for delivery” phase.
The key difference from the official Amazon app/website:
Amazon usually shows only the last 10 stops before your delivery.
My app starts tracking as soon as the package is marked “out for delivery”, even if the courier is still 30–60 km away.
Why this matters:
The Amazon app estimates position based on the remaining stops.
When the driver changes route (which happens often), the stop-based system recalculates and tracking becomes inaccurate or jumps around.
With my app:
• Tracking starts from the moment it’s on the truck
• You can follow the full route, not just the last 10 stops
• Real-time map updates (when location data is available)
• More consistent tracking even when the route changes
• Smart local notifications (in transit, out for delivery, delivered)
• Manual and automatic refresh
• Multiple shipments in one screen
Privacy:
• No proprietary servers
• Tracking data handled locally on the device
• Uses only necessary services (Amazon + maps)
It’s currently available in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (multilingual beta).
I built it because I was frustrated with the official tracking losing accuracy once the driver changed stops.
I’d genuinely love feedback — especially from people who frequently track deliveries and notice the “last 10 stops” limitation.
If anyone wants to test it, I will share the Play Store beta link in the comments.
Thanks
https://redd.it/1rhs01s
@reddit_androiddev
Hi everyone 👋
I’ve just released a beta of my Android app that improves how Amazon deliveries are tracked — especially during the “out for delivery” phase.
The key difference from the official Amazon app/website:
Amazon usually shows only the last 10 stops before your delivery.
My app starts tracking as soon as the package is marked “out for delivery”, even if the courier is still 30–60 km away.
Why this matters:
The Amazon app estimates position based on the remaining stops.
When the driver changes route (which happens often), the stop-based system recalculates and tracking becomes inaccurate or jumps around.
With my app:
• Tracking starts from the moment it’s on the truck
• You can follow the full route, not just the last 10 stops
• Real-time map updates (when location data is available)
• More consistent tracking even when the route changes
• Smart local notifications (in transit, out for delivery, delivered)
• Manual and automatic refresh
• Multiple shipments in one screen
Privacy:
• No proprietary servers
• Tracking data handled locally on the device
• Uses only necessary services (Amazon + maps)
It’s currently available in the UK, Spain, Germany and France (multilingual beta).
I built it because I was frustrated with the official tracking losing accuracy once the driver changed stops.
I’d genuinely love feedback — especially from people who frequently track deliveries and notice the “last 10 stops” limitation.
If anyone wants to test it, I will share the Play Store beta link in the comments.
Thanks
https://redd.it/1rhs01s
@reddit_androiddev
Reddit
From the androiddev community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the androiddev community
Vulkan on MALI G57 MC2 ?
Hello,
New here. Has anyone created a Vulkan sample on a Mali GPU, particularly the G57 MC2? My project works on other Android devices but fails on Mali.
Are there any do’s and don’ts when working with Mali GPUs using Vulkan 1.3?
TIA.
https://redd.it/1rhru2f
@reddit_androiddev
Hello,
New here. Has anyone created a Vulkan sample on a Mali GPU, particularly the G57 MC2? My project works on other Android devices but fails on Mali.
Are there any do’s and don’ts when working with Mali GPUs using Vulkan 1.3?
TIA.
https://redd.it/1rhru2f
@reddit_androiddev
Reddit
From the androiddev community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the androiddev community
Pagination
I'm wondering what do you use for making a paginations in a list screen
Do you use paging 3 or some custom logics or some other library?
https://redd.it/1rhuvvw
@reddit_androiddev
I'm wondering what do you use for making a paginations in a list screen
Do you use paging 3 or some custom logics or some other library?
https://redd.it/1rhuvvw
@reddit_androiddev
Reddit
From the androiddev community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the androiddev community
[DEV] I built an Open-Source, Ad-Free Movie & TV Streaming App (OHOBox) to practice UI/UX and WebView implementations
https://redd.it/1rhzf4w
@reddit_androiddev
https://redd.it/1rhzf4w
@reddit_androiddev