As you are probably aware, Google has released version 11 of Android - and many phones and tablets using this version are now on the market.
Android 11 contains a great number of changes and new features, and not the least of these is the new mandatory storage privacy / security feature which Google calls “scoped storage”. This feature is designed to strictly control the access that an app can have to any ‘shared storage’ (including the ‘Download’ folder, and the SD card) on your device.
The existing versions of the EatonPlan apps have been extensively modified to function correctly on Android 11.
Whereas previously an app could create, read and delete files and folders in the ‘Download’ folder or SD Card (for example), with Android 11 this can now only occur if you, the user, specifically grant that access.
Whilst this is definitely a big step forward in security, the change will affect a great many apps - including all of the apps from EatonPlan - KatanaMan, GT1Man, GT1BassMan, GT1000Mate, KatanaSets, and KatanaSync.
What this means to you
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If your phone or tablet does not yet run Android 11 you do not need to do anything (yet!).
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When using EatonPlan apps on Android 11, some functions may be noticeably slower than before. This is because the new storage security features in android are not as efficient as previously. However, great care has been taken with developing the updates to the EatonPlan apps to make sure that performance impacts are not detrimental to the effectiveness of the apps.
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Google calls the features used to access your phone/tablet's storage under the new 'scoped storage' security, Storage Access Framework (SAF). You will likely see references to SAF in a variety of your android apps, including those from EatonPlan.
- When using apps running on Android 11 you will be now be required to specifically nominate and give permission to access files and folders using an android file manager / file picker.