1975933 - Input with type `file` should prompt the user if they want to pick files from disk or open the camera

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox for Android :: Media, defect)

Description

[Kanaru Sato [:canalun]]

Environment (copy of "About Firefox")
140.0 (Build #2016097287), null
GV: 140.0-20250616215311
AS: 140.0
OS: Android 15

Step To Reproduce:

• Access to https://pasha.rakuten.co.jp/receipt/campaign
• Scroll down and click the button for preparing receipt photos
• Log in to rakuten account
  • Click the same button again if redirected to the original page
• Close the dialog about how to take a photo
• Approve the browser to use camera

Actual Result:

• Navigated to Android File Browsing.

Expected Result: (on Chrome)

• The "Choose an action" menu is displayed.
• You can choose to take a photo and camera launches.

Comment 1

[Titouan Thibaud [:titouan]]

(edit)
I used a VPN set to Japan and could reproduce the bug. I don't know yet why the behavior is different between Chrome and Fenix though.

Comment 2

[Titouan Thibaud [:titouan]]

Attachment: upload-image.html

Comment 3

[Titouan Thibaud [:titouan]]

I can reproduce the same bug with the example at the bottom of this page:
https://imagekit.io/blog/how-to-upload-files-in-html/.

STR:

• Open the attached HTML file.
• Click on "Choose file"

Expected result:

• A prompt asking if user wants to get the picture from the camera or from disk (it's what Chrome does).

Actual result:

• The file explorer is directly opened and user can select an existing file. The user has to take the picture before so that they can select in on disk when they click on the "Choose file" button.

I'm moving this to Fenix/Media as I think it belongs there.

Comment 4

[Randell Jesup [:jesup] (needinfo me)]

Note this is a fairly high-priority WebCompat bug affecting Japan (but also lots of other sites)

Comment 5

[Titouan Thibaud [:titouan]]

Do you think I should make it an S2 bug then?

Comment 6

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco]]

The severity field for this bug is set to S3. However, this bug has a P1 WebCompat priority.
:titouan, could you consider increasing the severity of this web compatibility bug?

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Comment 7

[Kanaru Sato [:canalun]]

(replying to :titouan)
Sorry for late response. Thank you for triaging it :)

Comment 8

[Brian Birtles (:birtles)]

Marking as confirmed based on comment 3.

Comment 9

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Looks like only <input type=file multiple> is affected, <input type=file> without multiple properly gives the camera action.

Comment 10

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Actually no, this is because we only show camera when type attribute is given with media mime type, while Chrome shows camera (and sound recorder) when type is not given too.

Edit: And I think the relevant code is here: https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/rev/995b0c65366602cbb70a65131f9a848c82a8d19d/mobile/android/android-components/components/feature/prompts/src/main/java/mozilla/components/feature/prompts/file/FilePicker.kt#151-189

where MimeType.values are: https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/rev/995b0c65366602cbb70a65131f9a848c82a8d19d/mobile/android/android-components/components/feature/prompts/src/main/java/mozilla/components/feature/prompts/file/MimeType.kt#155

Comment 11

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Let's see comment #10 works...

Comment 12

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Attachment: Bug 1975933 - Ask and show camera/microphone picker when accept attribute is empty r=#android-reviewers

This matches Chrome behavior.

Comment 13

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

(confirm https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D266053#9243162)

Comment 14

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Confirmed (it works)

Comment 15

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/dcf798ed06da
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/983d43e4a9be
Ask and show camera/microphone picker when accept attribute is empty r=android-reviewers,nalexander

Comment 16

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/ab5bf2401717
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/0a5f04b5fb98
Revert "Bug 1975933 - Ask and show camera/microphone picker when accept attribute is empty r=android-reviewers,nalexander" for causing failures at handleFilePickerRequest.

Comment 17

[Atila Butkovits]

Backed out for causing failures at handleFilePickerRequest.

Backout link: https://hg-edge.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/0a5f04b5fb98de0d36671a368e58081a15fcd050

Push with failures: https://treeherder.mozilla.org/jobs?repo=autoland&resultStatus=testfailed%2Cbusted%2Cexception%2Cretry%2Cusercancel&revision=983d43e4a9be87e2a4f240fe04542d8bbceff5d7&selectedTaskRun=HlDd0vpgR4eCGIgYiB3XeA.0

Failure log: https://treeherder.mozilla.org/logviewer?job_id=530840957&repo=autoland&task=HlDd0vpgR4eCGIgYiB3XeA.0&lineNumber=5654

Comment 18

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Bug 1990532 is lagging me behind.

Comment 19

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/a8a62bb8a67d
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/767db77466c6
Ask and show camera/microphone picker when accept attribute is empty r=android-reviewers,nalexander

Comment 20

[Atila Butkovits]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/767db77466c6

Comment 21

[Dianna Smith [:diannaS]]

:saschanaz did you want to mention this in the 146 mobile release notes? Please nominate if so.

Comment 22

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

Release Note Request (optional, but appreciated)
[Why is this notable]: Changes file picking behavior on Android
[Affects Firefox for Android]: Only Android
[Suggested wording]: <input type=file> without a valid accept attribute will now show users extra options to pick camera or microphone pickers alongside of the general file picker.
[Links (documentation, blog post, etc)]:

Comment 23

[Dianna Smith [:diannaS]]

Added to the 146 Nightly release notes for mobile with slightly adjusted wording
https://www.firefox.com/en-US/firefox/146.0a1/releasenotes/

Comment 24

[Brian Birtles (:birtles)]

Attachment: Screenshot of camera vs photo selection

Comment 25

[Brian Birtles (:birtles)]

Verified that the original site is fixed as shown in attachment 9522850 [details].

(It was a bit weird that you have to give Firefox access to the microphone up-front, however, as opposed to when you choose the video option but maybe that's just an Android thing.)

Comment 26

[Titouan Thibaud [:titouan]]

(In reply to Brian Birtles (:birtles) from comment #25)

(It was a bit weird that you have to give Firefox access to the microphone up-front, however, as opposed to when you choose the video option but maybe that's just an Android thing.)

That doesn't sound like something I would expect. Would you mind opening a separate but for that microphone permission behavior, explaining how to reproduce it, and maybe attaching a video?

Comment 27

[Brian Birtles (:birtles)]

Attachment: Screencast

This is what I mean by the microphone prompt. If Firefox doesn't already have the required permissions then these prompts will show up. Still worth filing a bug?

Comment 28

[Titouan Thibaud [:titouan]]

Sorry for the delay.
Yes, I still think it's worth filing a bug at least to investigate, because I don't really see why we would need the mic permission to get pictures from the user's file manager.

Comment 29

[Brian Birtles (:birtles)]

(In reply to Titouan Thibaud [:titouan] from comment #28)

Sorry for the delay.
Yes, I still think it's worth filing a bug at least to investigate, because I don't really see why we would need the mic permission to get pictures from the user's file manager.

I think we're showing a prompt which lets a user choose a picture/video from the gallery or to take a photo or video. Presumably the microphone permission is required in case the user chooses to take a video.

Comment 30

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

(In reply to Brian Birtles (:birtles) from comment #29)

I think we're showing a prompt which lets a user choose a picture/video from the gallery or to take a photo or video. Presumably the microphone permission is required in case the user chooses to take a video.

Sorry for the delay, yes the prompt is to show the button. Without the permission the button cannot be shown. (which is kinda confusing UX, but that's how it works...)

Comment 31

[Kagami Rosylight 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ [:saschanaz] (they/them)]

(To be clear the permission is for audio capture - so that the user can record something and attach it, than video)

Comment 32

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

(In reply to Brian Birtles (:birtles) from comment #25)

(It was a bit weird that you have to give Firefox access to the microphone up-front, however, as opposed to when you choose the video option but maybe that's just an Android thing.)

For this^ permission at least (the microphone): I get the same experience in Chrome. (The first time you tap the button in this bug's testcases, the browser prompts you for mic permission, regardless of whether the browser is Chrome or Firefox, if you haven't previously granted it permission.) I confirmed this in Chrome after resetting its permissions to get it to a clean-slate permissions setup, by toggling the permission to "allow" and then "deny" in the Android app-permissions UI.

However: for me at least, there's then a second permission prompt that I only get in Firefox, and my choice in that permissions-prompt seems to be irrelevant to the resulting experience, so I filed bug 2002689 on that.