[ONE Original Android Development] Hanny:
Allo 2.0 sharing images as 00:00 videos

Is any Allo 2.0 user experiencing a bug where when you send images from temporary sources like Google Now On Tap Share Screenshot, Bitmoji or Google Photos (backed up, not local images), the image gets turned into a 00:00 video?

(Temporary images are those which did not and will not exist as an image file on your phone, but just created for the sake of the particular share action)

I'm pretty sure it is not sultan's ROM's fault but something between CM13 and Allo 2.0. The sharing of these temporary images was fine on Allo 1.0.

I relate the issue to CM13 because a friend of mine using rooted AOSPA cannot reproduce the issue on Allo 2.0.

I've reported the issue in detail on Google Product Forums and in my opinion that is primarily Allo 2.0's fault because the exact same sharing actions are doing fine on other apps like Hangouts, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.

If you are able to test and reproduce the issue, it will be great if you can give my post a +1 or join in the discussion there.

If you cannot reproduce the issue with this ROM + Allo 2.0.000_RC16 (arm64-v8a_xxhdpi) please also let me know here so I can further debug my devices

More details and steps to reproduce the bug is in this copy and paste of my bug report:

Unexpected / Incorrect behaviour:

When sharing to Allo from an app that produces and stores an image temporarily for sharing*, Allo 2.0 seems confused and turns it into a 00:00 video, as shown in the screenshot below. The "video" either succeeds or fails to send depending on the source app. When it succeeds, the recipient is able to download the thumbnail of the "video" but will fail to open or play it. When it fails, the "video" is either stuck at the clock status icon (never reaches server) or is displayed with a red exclamation mark labelled "failed to send".

*Definition of an app that produces and stores an image temporarily for sharing:

I call images that are already stored in the phone storage "permanent", as the image file was there before sharing and will be there after sharing. Examples are a photo taken by the camera or downloaded from the internet and can be seen by gallery apps.

Temporary ones are those you did not see and will not see in gallery apps before and after sending. They are produced behind-the-scenes only for the sake of that particular share action. This is useful for the users so that they do not have to delete the image created after it is sent.

Tested source app from which the "video" can be sent

Bimoji

Tested source app from which the "video" fails to be sent

Google Now On Tap (long press home) Share button;

Google Photos share as image (The photo is from the cloud and does not exist in local storage)

Expected behaviour:

The temporary images should be regarded as normal image files and be simply sent.

This is tested and confirmed working in Allo 1.0, from a clean apk install, on the same system, after this bug has been discovered in Allo 2.0.

The exact procedure of sharing a temporary image from the aforementioned apps was tested on other communication apps like Hangouts, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger without unexpected behaviour. The images are shared as an image successfully in those apps.

System and App info:

Devices: OnePlus One & OnePlus 3

Android version: 6.0.1

ROMs: CyanogenMod 13 Snapshot & Nightly, with Google Apps Package

APK Versions producing unexpected behaviour: 2.0.000_RC16 (arm-v7a_xxhdpi) & 2.0.000_RC16 (arm64-v8a_xxhdpi)

APK Version producing correct behaviour: 1.0.006_RC18 (arm-v7a_xxhdpi)

At this point, the use of custom ROMs may be questioned. It is indeed possible that different ROMs (even stock ones from manufacturers) handle these temporary images differently, however, from the fact that other communication apps are tested to handle the exact same situation successfully on the same device and system, it should be Allo 2.0's responsibility to be versatile enough to handle them across ROMs.

Steps attempted to solve the issue but to no avail:

Granting all permissions to Allo.

A clean data wipe of the app, and a re-verification of phone number.

A device reboot.

A factory reset of the device.

In-app feedback with attached screenshots and logs, and brief details have been sent from OnePlus One, from both versions 1.0 and 2.0, and with [Reproduced Bug, by Hanny Yeung] labelled at the beginning.

Comments:

The changes from Allo 1.0 to 2.0 includes direct-sharing for 6.0+ devices. I would first suspect the bug being arisen from there.

I hope this issue will be officially recognised and addressed as soon as possible, because image sharing is one of the very basic and core functionalities of an online communication app. Thank you.