Google may finally fix a major frustration with Android's Photo Picker

Android’s Photo Picker is a system component that provides third-party apps with a browsable interface for accessing media library content. It’s a massive leap forward for user privacy, as it allows users to share specific photos and videos with third-party apps without giving them access to their full media library. For app developers, it saves them the effort of building this interface themselves. Google has refocused its efforts on improving the Android Photo Picker, as we’ve spotted features like a camera shortcut in the works. You can look forward to another new feature coming soon: a media editor.

Currently, if you are using apps that integrate the Android Photo Picker, you can select existing media to share with the app.

However, if during the selection process, you realize you want to make any edits to the media, say cropping it in a certain aspect ratio before sending, you will have to exit the Photo Picker, minimize the third-party app, navigate to the media gallery app on your phone, make edits to your media and ensure you save the edits, minimize/exit the gallery app, return to the third-party app, and resume sending through the Android Photo Picker.

As you can imagine, this is tedious and full of unnecessary friction.

Code in Android 17 QPR 2 Beta 2 suggests that Google is laying the groundwork to add a media editor to the Android Photo Picker. We’ve spotted a new class aptly named “EditFeature,” which seemingly integrates directly into the Photo Picker as a pop-up dialog. Other clues in the code corroborate that this feature is related to image editing functionality built directly into the Android Photo Picker.

Once this change goes live, users may potentially be able to make simple edits, such as cropping or marking media, directly in the Photo Picker, saving them from having to minimize the third-party app and navigate to a media gallery app.

This would remove friction for the user and, for the app developer, reduce opportunities for users to exit the app and remove the need to build a media-editing interface for simple edits. Users will also get a consistent editing experience across third-party apps that integrate the Android Photo Picker, which is a big win in making the OS feel cohesive.

The Android Photo Picker is a Project Mainline module and is updated through Google Play System Updates. As such, Google can roll out the feature independent of an OS update. We couldn’t activate the feature just yet, suggesting that Google still has some work to do in the background before it’s ready for rollout. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.