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I just learned about the ability to capture a bug report at will. I don't see it properly documented on an official Android website, so I'll describe it here:

After reproducing the issue, navigate to developer settings, ensure ‘USB debugging’ is enabled, then enable ‘Bug report shortcut’. To take bug report, hold the power button and select the ‘Take bug report’ option.

And optionally:

Screen capture of the issue: Press the volume down and power buttons simultaneously. The image will appear in your gallery. Attach the screenshot file to this issue.

And finally:

Please upload the bug report and screenshot to Google Drive and share the folder to [email protected], then share the link [here in this issue on code.google.com/p.android/....].

Question 1: How do I get it shared to Google Drive? I previously presumably configured all bug reports to be shared via the Gmail app, and I don't see how to override that setting now.

Second, I'm very surprised to see that we're being asked to share a Google Drive link publicly to the world. Aren't there privacy-sensitive aspects to bug reports?

Here is an example, from the open-source ChkBugReport desktop application, of the deep and wide range of information in a bug report, which can include email addresses, the device serial number, details on applications used and timings of user activity with them, detailed battery usage, the current software build ID, the network carriers use, detailed hardware information, boot parameters, various detailed usage statistics, etc.

Andrew T.
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nealmcb
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1 Answers1

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Question 1: How do I get it shared to Google Drive? I previously presumably configured all bug reports to be shared via the Gmail app, and I don't see how to override that setting now.

You can download the files which you got in the Gmail app and upload them to Google Drive by selecting those files on your phone.

Second, I'm very surprised to see that we're being asked to share a Google Drive link publicly to the world. Aren't there privacy-sensitive aspects to bug reports?

Bug reports are only there for the developers of the app you have a problem with to see the issue/bug you are having. They only disclose what type of phone you have and what problems there are on the bug so they can fix it.

Secondly, there is no real security risk in sharing a Google Drive link. It only goes to those you send it to, but granted if you send it to the wrong person, they can be able to see that information. If this happens (reminding again that sharing a bug report is not dangerous and that there is only about a 1% chance of this happening) then you can delete the link so no further people can access it.

Andrew T.
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Devin Ersoy
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    Android bugreports typically have highly personal and detailed information like your email address, the apps you use and how much, your device's unique serial number, your provider, copious logs, etc. I saw this post: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=216395#c1 which does not explain how sensitive bugreports are. In response, some people have published their bugreports via the "get shareable link" Google drive option, which does share it with the world. I think this needs to be explained far more carefully for folks. Information published online often can't be erased. – nealmcb Aug 15 '16 at 17:40
  • Thanks. I know that each time I generate a report, I can email it to myself and then extract that and manually upload to Drive. But I now want to change that default sharing setting for bugreports, so I can share directly to Drive. See e.g. default applications - How do you clear share actions bound to ‘copy to clipboard’? - Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange but I don't see how to use the advice here for this one. – nealmcb Aug 15 '16 at 18:56