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Rephrase a bit the README

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@ -10,50 +10,14 @@
Kiwix is an offline reader for Web content. One of its main purposes
is to make [Wikipedia](https://www.wikipedia.org/) available
offline. This is achieved by reading the content of a file in the
[ZIM](https://openzim.org) format, a highly compressed open format
offline. This is achieved by reading archives in the
[ZIM](https://openzim.org) file format, a highly compressed open format
with additional metadata.
This is the version for Android, with [support versions ranging from 7.1
to 13](https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android/blob/main/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/Config.kt).
to 15](https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android/blob/main/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/Config.kt).
**Important Note**: Starting from Android 11, the storage scanning
feature has been restricted in the [Play Store
variant](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kiwix.kiwixmobile)
due to Play Store policies. This means that users running Android 11
and above will not be able to load ZIM files from internal/external
storage directly within the app if they have downloaded Kiwix from the
Google Play Store. This restriction is in place to comply with the
Play Store policies. The Play Store variant of Kiwix does not require
the `MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE` permission anymore, which is necessary
to scan storage and access ZIM files at arbitrary locations.
Therefore, the storage scanning functionality is not
available in this variant anymore. For already downloaded ZIM files, You can copy
them to the `Android/media/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/` folder or you can use file picker to select the
ZIM files from storage and it will copy/move the ZIM files in this folder based on your choice
, and the application will read them.
Before uninstalling the application, please ensure that you move all your ZIM files
from this folder, as they will be automatically deleted when the application is uninstalled
or if the application data is cleared. To use the full version of Kiwix
and benefit of the ZIM file picker feature, you can download it
directly from the [official
repository](https://download.kiwix.org/release/kiwix-android/) or use
[IzzyOnDroid](https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile). We understand that this
restriction may cause inconvenience, but it is necessary to comply
with the Play Store policies and ensure a smooth user experience. We
recommend using the official version of the app available on our
website to access the complete set of features.
Possible paths for play store version which supports for the scanning/reading ZIM files.
| Storage path | Viewable outside kiwix(in File manager) | Could be scanned by Kiwix |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| storage/0/Android/media/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/ | Yes | Yes |
| storage/0/Android/data/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/ | No | Yes |
| storage/sdcard-name/Android/media/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/ | Yes | Yes |
| storage/sdcard-name/Android/data/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/ | No | Yes |
Kiwix Android is written in [Kotlin](https://kotlinlang.org/)
Kiwix Android is written in [Kotlin](https://kotlinlang.org/).
[![Build Status](https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android/workflows/CI/badge.svg?query=branch%3Amain+workflow%3ANightly)](https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android/actions?query=workflow%3ACI+branch%3Amain)
[![Nightly](https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android/actions/workflows/nightly.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android/actions/workflows/nightly.yml)
@ -63,9 +27,49 @@ Kiwix Android is written in [Kotlin](https://kotlinlang.org/)
[![Public Chat](https://img.shields.io/badge/public-chat-green)](https://chat.kiwix.org)
[![Slack](https://img.shields.io/badge/Slack-chat-E01E5A)](https://kiwixoffline.slack.com)
## App permissions
## Important Notes
Our application requests the following permissions, which are necessary for its functionality:
Starting from Android 11, Google has introduced a new very restrictive
policy which concretly forbids Kiwix [Play Store
variant](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kiwix.kiwixmobile)
users to directly load ZIM files from internal/external storage. For
the same reason, and still only in the Play Store variant, the storage
scanning feature has been removed.
Actualy, Kiwix Play Store variant can only directly scan/read ZIM
files in reserved app directories:
| Directory name | Storage path | Readable by File manager |
|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
| Internal public | `storage/0/Android/media/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/` | Yes |
| Internal private | `storage/0/Android/data/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/` | No |
| External public | `storage/sdcard-name/Android/media/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/` | Yes |
| External private | `storage/sdcard-name/Android/data/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile/` | No |
As a workaround, for ZIM files downloaded through third party apps,
Kiwix users can use the file picker (in Kiwix library) to select these
ZIM files... which then will be copied/moved to one of the the Kiwix
app public directories (see above). An operation which can also be
done manually.
Be careful, before uninstalling Kiwix, if the user wants to keep its
ZIM files, he will have to move them outside of the app
directory. Otherwise, the ZIM file might be removed during the
process.
To use the full version of Kiwix and avoid to suffer of this
restriction, you can download it directly from the [official
repository](https://download.kiwix.org/release/kiwix-android/) or use
[IzzyOnDroid](https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/org.kiwix.kiwixmobile).
We understand that this restriction may cause inconvenience, but it is
necessary to comply with the Play Store policies and ensure a smooth
user experience. We recommend using the official version of the app
available on our website to access the complete set of features.
## Android permissions needed
Kiwix requires the following permissions to fully work:
- `ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`: Required on devices running Android 12 and below to discover nearby
devices when transferring ZIM files.