- Android users cannot now download all files on NextCloud, simply because Google has revoked authorization
- NextCloud says Google punishes smaller competitors while protecting its own applications from restrictions
- NEXTCLOUD users now get an application experience, not because of failure, but the spout holder
The possibility of transparently downloading all types of Android files to the Cloud has become a reference expectation for modern users, in particular those that count on services like NextCloud to manage their data.
In a decision that triggered a counter coupling, Google blocked complete file download capacities in the Android application of NextCloud files, citing “safety problems”.
This unique policy change has considerably affected how users interact with one of the main cloud storage services available today, which raises broader questions about equity, power and competition in the digital ecosystem.
NextCloud claims unfair treatment under the cover of security
Although users can always download multimedia files such as photos and videos, a main feature for all those looking for the best Cloud for Photos, NextCloud has been forced to deactivate downloads for all other file types on Android.
According to NextCloud, the problem stems from Google’s refusal to grant an essential file authorization that the application has used since 2011. This is the authorization “All access files”, which allows an application to read and write all files on shared storage of a device, not just multimedia files.
“To make it clear: you all as users have a client of NextCloud worse because Google wanted it. We understand and share your frustration, but we can do nothing,” the company said in a press release.
NextCloud argues that this is not only a technical but strategic problem. The company says it is deposited, not for security reasons, but because it represents a competitive threat to the Google cloud ecosystem.
“Google with the platform means that they can – and are – give themselves preferential treatment,” said the company, noting that the own Google applications, as well as those of other Big Tech players, continue to take advantage of the same authorizations as NextCloud has now been refused.
Google’s recommendation to use alternative frames such as MediaStore or SAF API has not solved the problem. NextCloud explains that these options do not meet its requirements and that the examiners have misunderstood their features.
The situation echoes Microsoft’s past tactics in limiting Wordperfect access to Windows APIs, a historic parallel that NextCloud easily invokes.
User safety, says NextCloud, Google makes competition more difficult, especially for small developers offering confidentiality cloud backup solutions.
While regulators are responsible for responding to such concerns, NextCloud notes that progress is slow. A collective complaint filed in 2021 alongside 40 other organizations for a similar problem has not yet received an answer.
