[BUG] Deleting does not work a expected / Backup discovery ignores IS_TRASHED flag on Android 11 #1186

Closed
opened 2026-02-05 00:49:00 +03:00 by OVERLORD · 4 comments
Owner

Originally created by @JodliDev on GitHub (Aug 4, 2023).

The bug

This title is only an assumption. So apologies if I got it wrong :)

TLDR: After deleting photos in Android 11 using Immich, they will still be uploaded to the server even though they shouldnt be.
I believe this is connected to #739 and #2748

Why I think this is happening:
My understanding of the trash bin system in scoped storage (Android 11) is that when deleting a file it remains untouched but gets a new IS_TRASHED flag until it gets automatically removed after 30 days. The problem is, that when using the backup function, this flag seems to be ignored and the file gets uploaded anyway.
(I have not tested if the flag is actually set because I dont know how to. But since the Android dialog poped up, I assume it is)

I had a look a the behaviour of the Google Photos app. Their approach seems to be to rename the photo to ".trashed_XXX". If Immich would do the same, it should be easy to filter photos that should be ignored during indexing (and it would also be clearer when using a file manager).

The OS that Immich Server is running on

Android 11 (unrooted Havoc OS v4.19)

Version of Immich Server

1.71.0

Version of Immich Mobile App

1.71.0 build.91

Platform with the issue

  • Server
  • Web
  • Mobile

Your docker-compose.yml content

version: "3.3"

services:
  immich-server:
    container_name: immich_server
    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release}
    command: [ "start.sh", "immich" ]
    volumes:
      - ${UPLOAD_LOCATION}:/usr/src/app/upload
    env_file:
      - .env
    depends_on:
      - redis
      - database
      - typesense
    restart: unless-stopped

  immich-microservices:
    container_name: immich_microservices
    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release}
    command: [ "start.sh", "microservices" ]
    volumes:
      - ${UPLOAD_LOCATION}:/usr/src/app/upload
    env_file:
      - .env
    depends_on:
      - redis
      - database
      - typesense
    restart: unless-stopped

  immich-machine-learning:
    container_name: immich_machine_learning
    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release}
    volumes:
      - /000_data/immich/model-cache/:/cache
    env_file:
      - .env
    restart: always

  immich-web:
    container_name: immich_web
    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-web:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release}
    env_file:
      - .env
    restart: unless-stopped

  typesense:
    container_name: immich_typesense
    image: typesense/typesense:0.24.1@sha256:9bcff2b829f12074426ca044b56160ca9d777a0c488303469143dd9f8259d4dd
    environment:
      - TYPESENSE_API_KEY=${TYPESENSE_API_KEY}
      - TYPESENSE_DATA_DIR=/data
    volumes:
      - /000_data/immich/tsdata/:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis:
    container_name: immich_redis
    image: redis:6.2-alpine@sha256:70a7a5b641117670beae0d80658430853896b5ef269ccf00d1827427e3263fa3
    restart: always

  database:
    container_name: immich_postgres
    image: postgres:14-alpine@sha256:28407a9961e76f2d285dc6991e8e48893503cc3836a4755bbc2d40bcc272a441
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USERNAME}
      POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_DATABASE_NAME}
    volumes:
      - /000_data/immich/pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: unless-stopped

  immich-proxy:
    container_name: immich_proxy
    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-proxy:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release}
    environment:
      # Make sure these values get passed through from the env file
      - IMMICH_SERVER_URL
      - IMMICH_WEB_URL
    ports:
      - 2283:8080
    depends_on:
      - immich-server
      - immich-web
    restart: unless-stopped

Your .env content

###################################################################################
# Database
###################################################################################

# NOTE: The following four database variables support Docker secrets by adding a *_FILE suffix to the variable name
# See the docker-compose documentation on secrets for additional details: https://docs.docker.com/compose/compose-file/compose-file-v3/#secrets
DB_HOSTNAME=immich_postgres
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=XXX
DB_DATABASE_NAME=immich

# Optional Database settings:
# DB_PORT=5432

###################################################################################
# Redis
###################################################################################

REDIS_HOSTNAME=immich_redis

# REDIS_URL will be used to pass custom options to ioredis.
# Example for Sentinel
# {"sentinels":[{"host":"redis-sentinel-node-0","port":26379},{"host":"redis-sentinel-node-1","port":26379},{"host":"redis-sentinel-node-2","port":26379}],"name":"redis-sentinel"}
# REDIS_URL=ioredis://eyJzZW50aW5lbHMiOlt7Imhvc3QiOiJyZWRpcy1zZW50aW5lbDEiLCJwb3J0IjoyNjM3OX0seyJob3N0IjoicmVkaXMtc2VudGluZWwyIiwicG9ydCI6MjYzNzl9XSwibmFtZSI6Im15bWFzdGVyIn0=

# Optional Redis settings:

# Note: these parameters are not automatically passed to the Redis Container
# to do so, please edit the docker-compose.yml file as well. Redis is not configured
# via environment variables, only redis.conf or the command line

# REDIS_PORT=6379
# REDIS_DBINDEX=0
# REDIS_USERNAME=
# REDIS_PASSWORD=
# REDIS_SOCKET=

###################################################################################
# Upload File Location
#
# This is the location where uploaded files are stored.
###################################################################################

UPLOAD_LOCATION=/000_data/media/photos/


###################################################################################
# Typesense
###################################################################################
TYPESENSE_API_KEY=XXX
# TYPESENSE_ENABLED=false
# TYPESENSE_URL uses base64 encoding for the nodes json.
# Example JSON that was used:
# [
#      { "host": "typesense-1.example.net", "port": "443", "protocol": "https" },
#      { "host": "typesense-2.example.net", "port": "443", "protocol": "https" },
#      { "host": "typesense-3.example.net", "port": "443", "protocol": "https" },
# ]
# TYPESENSE_URL=ha://WwogIHsgImhvc3QiOiAidHlwZXNlbnNlLTEuZXhhbXBsZS5uZXQiLCAicG9ydCI6ICI0NDMiLCAicHJvdG9jb2wiOiAiaHR0cHMiIH0sCiAgeyAiaG9zdCI6ICJ0eXBlc2Vuc2UtMi5leGFtcGxlLm5ldCIsICJwb3J0IjogIjQ0MyIsICJwcm90b2NvbCI6ICJodHRwcyIgfSwKICB7ICJob3N0IjogInR5cGVzZW5zZS0zLmV4YW1wbGUubmV0IiwgInBvcnQiOiAiNDQzIiwgInByb3RvY29sIjogImh0dHBzIiB9Cl0=

###################################################################################
# Reverse Geocoding
#
# Reverse geocoding is done locally which has a small impact on memory usage
# This memory usage can be altered by changing the REVERSE_GEOCODING_PRECISION variable
# This ranges from 0-3 with 3 being the most precise
# 3 - Cities > 500 population: ~200MB RAM
# 2 - Cities > 1000 population: ~150MB RAM
# 1 - Cities > 5000 population: ~80MB RAM
# 0 - Cities > 15000 population: ~40MB RAM
####################################################################################

# DISABLE_REVERSE_GEOCODING=false
# REVERSE_GEOCODING_PRECISION=3

####################################################################################
# WEB - Optional
#
# Custom message on the login page, should be written in HTML form.
# For example:
# PUBLIC_LOGIN_PAGE_MESSAGE="This is a demo instance of Immich.<br><br>Email: <i>demo@demo.de</i><br>Password: <i>demo</i>"
####################################################################################

PUBLIC_LOGIN_PAGE_MESSAGE=

####################################################################################
# Alternative Service Addresses - Optional
#
# This is an advanced feature for users who may be running their immich services on different hosts.
# It will not change which address or port that services bind to within their containers, but it will change where other services look for their peers.
# Note: immich-microservices is bound to 3002, but no references are made
####################################################################################

IMMICH_WEB_URL=http://immich-web:3000
IMMICH_SERVER_URL=http://immich-server:3001
IMMICH_MACHINE_LEARNING_URL=http://immich-machine-learning:3003

####################################################################################
# Alternative API's External Address - Optional
#
# This is an advanced feature used to control the public server endpoint returned to clients during Well-known discovery.
# You should only use this if you want mobile apps to access the immich API over a custom URL. Do not include trailing slash.
# NOTE: At this time, the web app will not be affected by this setting and will continue to use the relative path: /api
# Examples: http://localhost:3001, http://immich-api.example.com, etc
####################################################################################

#IMMICH_API_URL_EXTERNAL=http://localhost:3001

###################################################################################
# Immich Version - Optional
#
# This allows all immich docker images to be pinned to a specific version. By default,
# the version is "release" but could be a specific version, like "v1.59.0".
###################################################################################

#IMMICH_VERSION=

Reproduction steps

1. Be on Android >=11
2. Create a new user on the server
3. Download the android app and login as that user.
4. Select a folder for backup
5. Delete a photo from the device using the app (the photo will be gone from the gallery, but it will still be present using a file manager)
6. When looking at the "Remainder" counter in the backup section, the counter will be too high (if your folder had 5 photos and you deleted 1, it should show 4. But it still shows 5)
7. Manually backup your photos

Outcome: ALL photos (including the one deleted) will be backed up to the server. The app will show the file as if it were only on the server. but when using a file manager, it will still be present

Additional information

Btw even though there are still small issues (as expected after such a short development time :D ), I am really in love with Immich! Thank you so much for your hard work!

Originally created by @JodliDev on GitHub (Aug 4, 2023). ### The bug This title is only an assumption. So apologies if I got it wrong :) TLDR: After deleting photos in Android 11 using Immich, they will still be uploaded to the server even though they shouldnt be. I believe this is connected to #739 and #2748 Why I think this is happening: My understanding of the trash bin system in scoped storage (Android 11) is that when deleting a file it remains untouched but gets a new IS_TRASHED flag until it gets automatically removed after 30 days. The problem is, that when using the backup function, this flag seems to be ignored and the file gets uploaded anyway. (I have not tested if the flag is actually set because I dont know how to. But since the Android dialog poped up, I assume it is) I had a look a the behaviour of the Google Photos app. Their approach seems to be to rename the photo to ".trashed_XXX". If Immich would do the same, it should be easy to filter photos that should be ignored during indexing (and it would also be clearer when using a file manager). ### The OS that Immich Server is running on Android 11 (unrooted Havoc OS v4.19) ### Version of Immich Server 1.71.0 ### Version of Immich Mobile App 1.71.0 build.91 ### Platform with the issue - [ ] Server - [ ] Web - [X] Mobile ### Your docker-compose.yml content ```YAML version: "3.3" services: immich-server: container_name: immich_server image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release} command: [ "start.sh", "immich" ] volumes: - ${UPLOAD_LOCATION}:/usr/src/app/upload env_file: - .env depends_on: - redis - database - typesense restart: unless-stopped immich-microservices: container_name: immich_microservices image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release} command: [ "start.sh", "microservices" ] volumes: - ${UPLOAD_LOCATION}:/usr/src/app/upload env_file: - .env depends_on: - redis - database - typesense restart: unless-stopped immich-machine-learning: container_name: immich_machine_learning image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release} volumes: - /000_data/immich/model-cache/:/cache env_file: - .env restart: always immich-web: container_name: immich_web image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-web:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release} env_file: - .env restart: unless-stopped typesense: container_name: immich_typesense image: typesense/typesense:0.24.1@sha256:9bcff2b829f12074426ca044b56160ca9d777a0c488303469143dd9f8259d4dd environment: - TYPESENSE_API_KEY=${TYPESENSE_API_KEY} - TYPESENSE_DATA_DIR=/data volumes: - /000_data/immich/tsdata/:/data restart: unless-stopped redis: container_name: immich_redis image: redis:6.2-alpine@sha256:70a7a5b641117670beae0d80658430853896b5ef269ccf00d1827427e3263fa3 restart: always database: container_name: immich_postgres image: postgres:14-alpine@sha256:28407a9961e76f2d285dc6991e8e48893503cc3836a4755bbc2d40bcc272a441 env_file: - .env environment: POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD} POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USERNAME} POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_DATABASE_NAME} volumes: - /000_data/immich/pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data restart: unless-stopped immich-proxy: container_name: immich_proxy image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-proxy:${IMMICH_VERSION:-release} environment: # Make sure these values get passed through from the env file - IMMICH_SERVER_URL - IMMICH_WEB_URL ports: - 2283:8080 depends_on: - immich-server - immich-web restart: unless-stopped ``` ### Your .env content ```Shell ################################################################################### # Database ################################################################################### # NOTE: The following four database variables support Docker secrets by adding a *_FILE suffix to the variable name # See the docker-compose documentation on secrets for additional details: https://docs.docker.com/compose/compose-file/compose-file-v3/#secrets DB_HOSTNAME=immich_postgres DB_USERNAME=postgres DB_PASSWORD=XXX DB_DATABASE_NAME=immich # Optional Database settings: # DB_PORT=5432 ################################################################################### # Redis ################################################################################### REDIS_HOSTNAME=immich_redis # REDIS_URL will be used to pass custom options to ioredis. # Example for Sentinel # {"sentinels":[{"host":"redis-sentinel-node-0","port":26379},{"host":"redis-sentinel-node-1","port":26379},{"host":"redis-sentinel-node-2","port":26379}],"name":"redis-sentinel"} # REDIS_URL=ioredis://eyJzZW50aW5lbHMiOlt7Imhvc3QiOiJyZWRpcy1zZW50aW5lbDEiLCJwb3J0IjoyNjM3OX0seyJob3N0IjoicmVkaXMtc2VudGluZWwyIiwicG9ydCI6MjYzNzl9XSwibmFtZSI6Im15bWFzdGVyIn0= # Optional Redis settings: # Note: these parameters are not automatically passed to the Redis Container # to do so, please edit the docker-compose.yml file as well. Redis is not configured # via environment variables, only redis.conf or the command line # REDIS_PORT=6379 # REDIS_DBINDEX=0 # REDIS_USERNAME= # REDIS_PASSWORD= # REDIS_SOCKET= ################################################################################### # Upload File Location # # This is the location where uploaded files are stored. ################################################################################### UPLOAD_LOCATION=/000_data/media/photos/ ################################################################################### # Typesense ################################################################################### TYPESENSE_API_KEY=XXX # TYPESENSE_ENABLED=false # TYPESENSE_URL uses base64 encoding for the nodes json. # Example JSON that was used: # [ # { "host": "typesense-1.example.net", "port": "443", "protocol": "https" }, # { "host": "typesense-2.example.net", "port": "443", "protocol": "https" }, # { "host": "typesense-3.example.net", "port": "443", "protocol": "https" }, # ] # TYPESENSE_URL=ha://WwogIHsgImhvc3QiOiAidHlwZXNlbnNlLTEuZXhhbXBsZS5uZXQiLCAicG9ydCI6ICI0NDMiLCAicHJvdG9jb2wiOiAiaHR0cHMiIH0sCiAgeyAiaG9zdCI6ICJ0eXBlc2Vuc2UtMi5leGFtcGxlLm5ldCIsICJwb3J0IjogIjQ0MyIsICJwcm90b2NvbCI6ICJodHRwcyIgfSwKICB7ICJob3N0IjogInR5cGVzZW5zZS0zLmV4YW1wbGUubmV0IiwgInBvcnQiOiAiNDQzIiwgInByb3RvY29sIjogImh0dHBzIiB9Cl0= ################################################################################### # Reverse Geocoding # # Reverse geocoding is done locally which has a small impact on memory usage # This memory usage can be altered by changing the REVERSE_GEOCODING_PRECISION variable # This ranges from 0-3 with 3 being the most precise # 3 - Cities > 500 population: ~200MB RAM # 2 - Cities > 1000 population: ~150MB RAM # 1 - Cities > 5000 population: ~80MB RAM # 0 - Cities > 15000 population: ~40MB RAM #################################################################################### # DISABLE_REVERSE_GEOCODING=false # REVERSE_GEOCODING_PRECISION=3 #################################################################################### # WEB - Optional # # Custom message on the login page, should be written in HTML form. # For example: # PUBLIC_LOGIN_PAGE_MESSAGE="This is a demo instance of Immich.<br><br>Email: <i>demo@demo.de</i><br>Password: <i>demo</i>" #################################################################################### PUBLIC_LOGIN_PAGE_MESSAGE= #################################################################################### # Alternative Service Addresses - Optional # # This is an advanced feature for users who may be running their immich services on different hosts. # It will not change which address or port that services bind to within their containers, but it will change where other services look for their peers. # Note: immich-microservices is bound to 3002, but no references are made #################################################################################### IMMICH_WEB_URL=http://immich-web:3000 IMMICH_SERVER_URL=http://immich-server:3001 IMMICH_MACHINE_LEARNING_URL=http://immich-machine-learning:3003 #################################################################################### # Alternative API's External Address - Optional # # This is an advanced feature used to control the public server endpoint returned to clients during Well-known discovery. # You should only use this if you want mobile apps to access the immich API over a custom URL. Do not include trailing slash. # NOTE: At this time, the web app will not be affected by this setting and will continue to use the relative path: /api # Examples: http://localhost:3001, http://immich-api.example.com, etc #################################################################################### #IMMICH_API_URL_EXTERNAL=http://localhost:3001 ################################################################################### # Immich Version - Optional # # This allows all immich docker images to be pinned to a specific version. By default, # the version is "release" but could be a specific version, like "v1.59.0". ################################################################################### #IMMICH_VERSION= ``` ### Reproduction steps ```bash 1. Be on Android >=11 2. Create a new user on the server 3. Download the android app and login as that user. 4. Select a folder for backup 5. Delete a photo from the device using the app (the photo will be gone from the gallery, but it will still be present using a file manager) 6. When looking at the "Remainder" counter in the backup section, the counter will be too high (if your folder had 5 photos and you deleted 1, it should show 4. But it still shows 5) 7. Manually backup your photos Outcome: ALL photos (including the one deleted) will be backed up to the server. The app will show the file as if it were only on the server. but when using a file manager, it will still be present ``` ### Additional information Btw even though there are still small issues (as expected after such a short development time :D ), I am really in love with Immich! Thank you so much for your hard work!
OVERLORD added the 📱mobile label 2026-02-05 00:49:00 +03:00
Author
Owner

@cremonies commented on GitHub (Aug 17, 2023):

Great app. Really impressed.
This is exactly what happens on my google pixel phone.

@cremonies commented on GitHub (Aug 17, 2023): Great app. Really impressed. This is exactly what happens on my google pixel phone.
Author
Owner

@poisonnuke commented on GitHub (Jun 17, 2024):

I can refine the bugreport:

deleted images on Android just disappear and do NOT end up in the trash. So there is a bug when deleting images in the mobile app. The above issue is a result of that

@poisonnuke commented on GitHub (Jun 17, 2024): I can refine the bugreport: deleted images on Android just disappear and do NOT end up in the trash. So there is a bug when deleting images in the mobile app. The above issue is a result of that
Author
Owner

@WhiteWoodenWall commented on GitHub (Jul 27, 2024):

I have a similar issue. When I use the web interface to delete photos that were uploaded from the android mobile app, they are automatically reuploaded every time I open the Immich mobile app. Guessing the only way around this would be to keep some info about files that were deleted (filenames etc) and check that when backing up from mobile?

@WhiteWoodenWall commented on GitHub (Jul 27, 2024): I have a similar issue. When I use the web interface to delete photos that were uploaded from the android mobile app, they are automatically reuploaded every time I open the Immich mobile app. Guessing the only way around this would be to keep some info about files that were deleted (filenames etc) and check that when backing up from mobile?
Author
Owner

@shenlong-tanwen commented on GitHub (Sep 13, 2025):

The app respects the IS_TRASHED flags. The assets are indeed renamed with to the same format as the other app (Android handles this automatically) and the backup excludes such assets. Kindly try the new beta timeline and open a new issue if it persists

@shenlong-tanwen commented on GitHub (Sep 13, 2025): The app respects the IS_TRASHED flags. The assets are indeed renamed with to the same format as the other app (Android handles this automatically) and the backup excludes such assets. Kindly try the new beta timeline and open a new issue if it persists
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Reference: immich-app/immich#1186