expo: Expo image picker always include camera permission even if I don't need it

@rikoriswandha I was about to do the exact same thing, thanks a lot for confirming it’s working !

EDIT: I also had to remove these permissions in expo-image-picker/android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

Also, for yarn v2/v3 users like me, no need of patch-package (it’s not supported), instead :

yarn patch expo-image-picker
# follow instructions, patch these files in the temp directory shown
# android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
# plugin/build/withImagePicker.js
# plugin/src/withImagePicker.ts

yarn patch-commit -s <temp-directory-displayed>

This set a new resolution in package.json with the patch referenced.

Important: ensure the resolution version exactly match the semver reference in the dependencies, ie you have "expo-image-picker": "~11.0.3" in dependencies, use also the ~ in resolution :

"resolutions": {
  "expo-image-picker@~11.0.3": "patch:expo-image-picker....."
}

No need for post install script because yarn automatically apply the patch at installation (but the semver must match)

Source: https://github.com/ds300/patch-package/issues/272#issuecomment-944877317

@rikoriswandha great finding! @byCedric actually issue is bigger. It also add the android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO permission even though we dont need it. In most europe because of GDPR there is a heightened awareness and averision not to install an app if it as RECORD_AUDIO permissions => bad. Also imagine the discussion between developer and stakeholder. StakeHolder: Why does google say that we need to record audio. We are building a simple image picker app. Developer: We are using expo-image-picker which requires RECORD_AUDIO on android platform. Stakeholder: Why are we using expo again ? 😃 lol

This issue still there and it’s kind of important. I’m getting this warning on Google Play Console, and probably because of this.

While my permissions for Android, in app.json are:

      "permissions": [
        "ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION",
        "ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION",
        "READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE",
        "WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
      ],

And my code:

The issue is still present @github-actions 😉

@colinux @anback my temporary workaround is by installing patch-package and patch the expo-image-picker permission inside your node_modules. Here’s the step:

1. npm install patch-package or yarn add patch-package postinstall-postinstall if you’re using yarn. Refer to https://github.com/ds300/patch-package
2. Open node_modules/expo-image-picker/plugin/build/withImagePicker.js and delete permissions that you don’t need inside the withImagePicker function
3. Run npx patch-package expo-image-picker or yarn patch-package expo-image-picker
4. Add a script inside your package.json for patching after build. I’m using eas-build so in my case the script is: "eas-build-post-install": "patch-package"
5. Run locally or rebuild your app and resubmit to Play Store

Here’s my edited withImagePicker.js for reference

const withImagePicker = (config, { photosPermission, cameraPermission, microphonePermission } = {}) => {
    if (!config.ios)
        config.ios = {};
    if (!config.ios.infoPlist)
        config.ios.infoPlist = {};
    config.ios.infoPlist.NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription =
        photosPermission || config.ios.infoPlist.NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription || READ_PHOTOS_USAGE;
    return config_plugins_1.withPlugins(config, [
        [
            config_plugins_1.AndroidConfig.Permissions.withPermissions,
            [
                'android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE',
                'android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE',
            ],
        ],
        withImagePickerManifestActivity,
    ]);
};