Deep Dive: Android Google Photos NDEF Internal Code

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📝 Key Points of This Article

• An app analysis has revealed that a minor update (version v7.59.0.856624550) for the Android version of the “Google Photos” app has been released, including further code additions related to “NFC” functionality.
• The added code pertains to the Activity class “NfcActivity,” which is designed to receive “NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format),” the standard data format for Near Field Communication (NFC).
• This suggests the upcoming implementation of a feature that allows users to share specific photos, videos, or albums by tapping NFC-enabled Android devices together, or to open and share specific content in “Google Photos” by scanning specific NFC tags.

Recently, it was discovered that some form of NFC functionality is being implemented in the Android version of Google’s online photo library service, “Google Photos.” This was based on the addition of code related to Near Field Communication (NFC) permissions found within the v7.59 (v7.59.0.855402494) app update.

A few days later, a minor update (version v7.59.0.856624550) for the Android “Google Photos” app began rolling out. App analysis has revealed that further code related to these NFC functions has been added in this version.

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The code added in the Google Photos v7.59.0.856624550 update for Android concerns the Activity class “NfcActivity,” which is used for receiving “NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format),” the standard format for NFC data exchange.

<activity android:name="com.google.android.apps.photos.nfc.NfcActivity" android:exported="true" android:launchMode="singleTop">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.nfc.action.NDEF_DISCOVERED"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
        <data android:mimeType="application/com.google.android.apps.photos.nfc"/>
    </intent-filter>
</activity>

This suggests the implementation of a feature where tapping two NFC-enabled Android devices together could share specific photos, videos, or albums within “Google Photos.” Alternatively, it may allow specific “Google Photos” content to open or be shared directly upon scanning an NFC tag. Regardless, since the functionality has been implemented internally, it is likely to be officially rolled out in the near future.

“Google Photos” App Link