OK, this is an ultra geek topic and I won't even go into it unless someone out there is interested and/or has some answers. When I even begin to explain this to Dodie, she defaults to "I have no idea what you are talking about" within about ten seconds. Here is my ten second version of what this is about. Let me know if I should carry on:

Osmand is the map/guidance program we use on our Android phone. 

Osmand by default keeps its maps, tracks, location favourites, etc. etc. in a "system" folder of the phone memory that begins /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/net.osmand.plus/files

We often have reason to go into this folder. For example, if we track our travel for a day, Osmand stores that track here. To put the track into the blog, Ride With GPS (RWGPS) needs to get access to it. 

In Android 11 and 12 (the latest), Google has blocked access to Android/data folders, and they have patched to foil efforts to get around the block. Nobody on various forums knows why. So RWGPS, for example, is blocked.

There is a way to get Osmand to keep its files out in a "safe" area, but this is not working for me.

I have figured several clumsy workarounds I could share.

Going off topic

 Maybe Google perceives Osmand to be a threat to Google Maps?

Why do you prefer Osmand to just using Ridewith GPS for your navigation?

. 

Ah, now that question gave me pause. I think my main fall back reason is that Osmand+ has offline maps, covering the whole world. But I admit I have never really tried the RWGPS app.  I think that is because in the early going they told me it would not upload a recorded track to the main web site.  But I don't know - can it show a pre planned gpx track, guide me around it with a blue "you are here" dot based on satellites and cell towers, then store the actual path I took, and upload that to the web site for ultimate display in Cycleblaze?  Except for the new glitch I am mentioning here, Osmand+ does all that and more - such as maintaining flags to show such things as where your hotel is, and creating tracks from where you are to a flag, if needed.

p.s. Thanks for being apparently the only other person on the planet with an interest in any aspect of this topic!

BTW Steve we purchased a new Android Tablet recently and just received advice of an upgrade to Android 14.

If your devices are still at version 12 you are possibly not receiving further support which may have something to do with your problem but I know nothing about such matters!

It's just the opposite. Starting with Android 14 (they are at 15 now) Google decided to lock ordinary users out of the android/data folders. However lots of apps still store files there, some of which the users need access to.

 It seems this problem has now been around for a while (like since Android 11). Look at this post on Reddit:

"Jesus Google really killed me with this one.

I have about a dozen apps I use for work, and rely on daily that require me to freely move files in anf out of their folders in the Android/data/.... location.

These apps are no longer under development actively, so no chance the developer changes the app now.

My phone updated overnight with no interaction from me as usual. Drove 3 hours to meet a client, and BAM, none of the apps I need worked, I looked like an amateur idiot and probably lost a client (about 25k over the next 8 months or so).

Yeah, eventually I'll go through the cumbersome process of getting everything working again, or finding alternative apps where possible, or maybe buying a phone with Android 10 just for work...but the fact that shit like this happens regularly is so infuriating."