Restrictions

Starting with Android 11 access to Android/[data|obb] is restricted by Google. Restrictions are related to security. Sensitive information may be stored in these folders.

In Android 11 and 12, folders can be accessed by granting access. Refer to the instruction page for more information. Starting with Android 13, the restrictions have become stricter. Google may block all workarounds for accessing these folders in a future versions of Android...

Starting in September 2023, Google began updating the Files app. This update blocks path selection to the Android/[data|obb] folders on Android 11+. On some devices, this update may be uninstalled. Please refer to the instructions for details.

Starting in March 2024, Google publish new security patch. This patch blocks granting access permission to the Android/[data|obb] folders on Android 11+. This change cannot be reversed.

Full access to the Android/[data|obb] folders without restrictions is possible using root rights or Shizuku. If you have root rights on your phone, you can enable Settings > ROOT > "Use for Android/[data|obb]" options (before needs to enable "File operations" options too).

Shizuku

Shizuku is a tool that allows you to use some system APIs without rooting Android. It works by proxing adb shell permissions to the application.

To install Shizuku you can use the instructions from the official website: https://shizuku.rikka.app/guide/setup

You can enable Shizuku support in ZArchiver in the settings: Settings > ROOT > Type of root access > Shizuku.

Android 13 and Android/data

The message "This folder has an Android access restriction" informs that the current path has restrictions. The restrictions of the Android/data folder:
- You cannot create subfolders with an arbitrary name in Android/data.
- You cannot rename subfolders in Android/data to an arbitrary name.

But you can still do the following operations in Android/data:
- Create folders named as installed apps;
- Rename folders, but the new name must correspond to the installed app;
- Delete folders.

To access the contents of subfolders or perform any operations, you must grant access to them (see). All operations (file creation, deletion, compression and extraction) are available in subfolders.