Hello Nothing team,
I’m writing on behalf of a mobile app development team. Our app uses the standard Android SDK API to access its sandbox directory via: context.getExternalFilesDirs(null)
which maps to:
/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/<package>/files
The issue:
Since early March 2025, we’ve observed a sudden increase in storage-related errors exclusively on Nothing Phone (1). The app is no longer able to access its own sandbox directory, despite using proper Android APIs and having the expected permissions.
Key facts:
The issue appears even in older versions of the app, with no relevant code changes.
It affects only Nothing Phone (1); other Android devices (Samsung, Pixel, Xiaomi, etc.) continue to work correctly.
We are not using WebView, SAF, or FileProvider — only the standard Android API via getExternalFilesDirs().
The returned file path appears valid, but calls like mkdirs(), isDirectory(), and canWrite() give inconsistent results: initially returning true, and later false.
We suspect a system-level change in Nothing OS (possibly through an OTA update or internal security policy adjustment) may be affecting access to the app’s sandbox directory.
—
Questions:
Was there any system or security update rolled out in early March 2025 that may have changed behavior around storage access?
Has Nothing OS modified the way it handles access to the Android/data/<package>/files directory?
Are there any best practices or official recommendations for ensuring reliable storage access on Nothing OS?
We would appreciate any insights or direction, and thank you for your work and openness with the developer community.
Best regards!
Andrej
Android developer
