MediaRescue

MediaRescue is an open-source Android storage scanner, media discovery, and file management app built with Flutter, Dart, and Kotlin.

It helps users find hidden, deeply nested, poorly indexed, and hard-to-find files across Android device storage. MediaRescue scans local storage, builds an indexed file database, and provides tools for searching, filtering, browsing, previewing, and rescuing files.

Unlike a traditional gallery app, MediaRescue is designed to look beyond the usual media locations and help users understand what is actually stored on their Android device.

MediaRescue is live on Google Play and available through multiple download channels.

📥 Download MediaRescue

🚀 What MediaRescue Does

MediaRescue is an Android file discovery and media management tool focused on files that are easy to miss with normal gallery applications.

The app scans device storage, indexes discovered files, and lets users work with the results without repeatedly scanning the filesystem.

Core Features

Full device storage scanning
Recursive folder scanning
Hidden Media detection
Advanced Scanning with optional Shizuku support
Android data and obb scanning through Advanced Scanning
Gallery view
File browser
Search
Smart Filters
Large Files detection
Cleanup suggestions
Suggested Gallery folders
Image previews
Video previews
Audio playback
PDF previews
Full-screen landscape video playback
Background audio and video playback
Android media notifications
Previous and next media controls
Shared storage support
Removable SD card support
Offline-first architecture
Local file processing
Local metadata indexing
No account required
No cloud upload of user files

🔍 Hidden Media

One of MediaRescue's core ideas is helping users find media that normal gallery applications do not show clearly.

MediaRescue identifies files using signals such as:

Hidden directories
.nomedia files
Files outside common media locations
Files missing from Android's media index
Unusual directory depth
Media stored inside application-related directories

The Hidden Media feature helps users investigate media files that exist on storage but might not appear in their normal gallery.

MediaRescue does not treat every non-gallery file as deleted. The goal is file discovery, not pretending that existing files are deleted data.

🧪 Advanced Scanning

MediaRescue includes an optional Advanced Scanning mode powered by Shizuku.

Advanced Scanning provides access to storage locations that normal Android storage APIs restrict, including areas such as:

Android/data
Android/obb

The feature is user initiated and optional.

MediaRescue uses Shizuku for local, read-oriented advanced scanning rather than requiring users to root their devices.

The project also includes release-specific Shizuku API permission handling and keep rules to improve reliability in production builds.

🖼️ Gallery

The Gallery provides a media-focused view of files discovered during scanning.

Supported media includes:

Images
Videos
Audio

MediaRescue also provides suggested storage locations for quickly exploring common media folders.

Suggested locations include:

DCIM
Pictures
Download
Movies
Music
Documents
WhatsApp
Android

Selecting a folder scans the folder and its subfolders and presents discovered media through the Gallery workflow.

🔎 Search

MediaRescue indexes discovered files so users can search through previously scanned results without performing another complete filesystem scan.

Search supports discovered files across the storage index and opens files through dedicated preview routes.

Supported previews include:

Images
Videos
Audio
PDFs

Returning from a preview keeps the user within the current search workflow.

🎯 Smart Filters

MediaRescue uses a filtering architecture built around its existing indexed FileItem data.

Instead of performing another filesystem scan whenever a user changes a filter, MediaRescue filters the existing indexed results.

Storage Scanner
      ↓
FileItem Index
      ↓
FilterEngine
      ↓
Filtered Results
      ↓
UI

Each indexed file includes metadata such as:

File path
File name
File size
MIME type
Modified date
Storage location
Hidden/indexing information

Users can combine filters for more precise file discovery.

Available Filters

File type
File size
Modified date
Storage location
Hidden files
Indexed files
Multiple filters at the same time

This architecture keeps filtering separate from filesystem scanning and makes repeated filtering significantly more efficient than rescanning storage for every query.

📦 Large Files

MediaRescue includes a dedicated Large Files section for finding files that occupy significant storage space.

Users can inspect large files, preview supported media, and use MediaRescue's rescue and file-management workflows.

The feature is also integrated into the Home screen through cleanup suggestions.

Examples include:

Large videos → Large Files
Many images → Gallery
Unknown files → Browser

🎵 Audio Playback

MediaRescue includes an integrated audio player with previous and next controls.

Audio playback is available from multiple parts of the application, including:

Browse
Search
Large Files

The player receives available audio files from the current context and lets users move between files without repeatedly returning to the file list.

🎬 Video Playback

MediaRescue provides dedicated video preview routes with support for full-screen landscape playback.

Features include:

Full-screen landscape video
Playback controls
Preserved playback position
Preserved playback state
Automatic video repeat
Screen wake lock during active foreground playback
Wake lock release when playback is paused
Wake lock release during background playback
Safe playback cleanup when leaving the preview screen

The application also uses route observation and playback lifecycle handling to prevent media from continuing after the user leaves the preview screen.

🔔 Background Media Playback

MediaRescue v1.0.8 introduced background audio and video playback through an Android MediaSession foreground service.

Media notifications provide controls for:

Play
Pause
Previous
Next
Seek state
Stop

Users also have settings for:

Background playback
Media notifications
Battery optimization behavior

An optional battery optimization exemption is available for devices that aggressively terminate background services.

📂 File Browser

The Browser provides manual storage navigation similar to a traditional Android file manager.

Users can:

Browse folders
Browse subfolders
Open files
Navigate through storage
Preview supported media
Inspect files outside typical gallery locations

The Browser works alongside Search, Gallery, Large Files, and Advanced Scanning instead of replacing them.

🔄 File Discovery Architecture

MediaRescue follows an indexed discovery architecture.

Android Storage
      ↓
Recursive Scanner
      ↓
File Metadata
      ↓
FileItem Index
      ↓
Search / Filters / Gallery / Browser
      ↓
Preview / Playback / Rescue

The scanner collects metadata from discovered files and stores the results in the application's local state.

Search and filtering then operate on those indexed results.

This avoids unnecessary repeated filesystem scans when users search, filter, or change views.

🔒 Privacy

MediaRescue follows a local-first privacy model.

Files remain on the user's device during normal MediaRescue operation. The application processes discovered files and their metadata locally for scanning, searching, filtering, browsing, previewing, and playback.

MediaRescue does not require:

An account
Cloud storage
Uploading personal files
Remote file processing

The project is designed for users who want to inspect their Android storage without sending personal media to a remote service.

📱 Android Storage

Android storage has become increasingly restricted across recent Android versions.

Application-specific directories, hidden folders, .nomedia files, MediaStore indexing, removable storage, and scoped storage rules can all affect which files appear in normal gallery applications.

MediaRescue addresses the file discovery side of this problem by scanning and indexing accessible local storage and providing additional Advanced Scanning capabilities through Shizuku.

The application does not claim to recover data that has already been physically overwritten.

v1.0.9 — Immersive Audio & Auto-Scroll, Memories, Haptics & Diagnostics

✨ New Features

Immersive Audio Playback: Audio files are now integrated directly into the unified Immersive Media Player feed alongside images and videos, complete with dedicated artwork, waveform card, and full gesture controls.
Auto-scroll Feed: Toggle auto-scroll from the long-press middle screen menu. Automatically advances to the next compatible audio or video item when playback finishes; images remain static.
Audio Transitions & Fades: Smooth volume fade-down and fade-in between tracks during manual swiping to eliminate clicks, pops, and abrupt cuts.
Edge-Hold Playback Speed Controls: 20 ms confirmation delay before activating temporary 2× speed to eliminate accidental triggers, accompanied by soft haptic feedback.
User-Controlled Haptic Feedback: Settings toggle for haptics and adjustable intensity (Light, Medium, Strong) applied to speed triggers and buttons across the app.
Advanced Scan Preview Cache Indexing Protection: Automatically creates and maintains .nomedia in /storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.shaheer.mediarescue.mediarescue/advanced_preview_cache/ to shield preview thumbnails from Android MediaStore indexing.
Local Memory Anniversary Notifications: Reminders for hidden media files taken on this date in previous years using locally cached metadata on a dedicated channel (mediarescue_memories) with custom sound and direct player opening. Fully offline with zero cloud storage.
Anonymous Installation & Activity Diagnostics: Offline-first, privacy-compliant installation telemetry using Firebase Cloud Firestore. Syncs at most once every ~24 hours with a random installation UUID, device model, and OS version without collecting personal data, media, or file paths.
Developer Memory Cache Inspector (debug builds only): Settings → Developer lists the exact metadata cached locally for Memories — path, media type, creation/caching dates, cached artwork and notification bookkeeping — alongside a random test notification and a one-tap Open media check of the whole notification pipeline.

🏪 Distribution

MediaRescue has moved beyond development and testing into public distribution.

The application is currently distributed through:

Google Play
Official MediaRescue website
GitHub Releases
Orion Store
APKPure
Softonic
Uptodown

The project maintains the GitHub repository as the primary open-source development location.

🧪 Testing and Release Process

MediaRescue went through Google Play testing before production release.

Testing covered:

Storage scanning
Recursive file discovery
Hidden Media
Advanced Scanning
Gallery
Smart Filters
Search
File Browser
Audio playback
Video playback
Background playback
Media notifications
Image previews
PDF previews
Large Files
Navigation
Shared storage
Removable SD cards
Android storage restrictions

User feedback during testing helped identify issues around file discovery, Large Files, Advanced Scanning, playback, and navigation.

The project continues to receive updates based on testing and real-world usage.

🛠️ Technology Stack

MediaRescue is built using:

Flutter
Dart
Kotlin
Android SDK
Gradle
Material Design
Shizuku API
Android MediaSession
Android Foreground Services
Git
GitHub

👨‍💻 Independent Development

MediaRescue was developed independently from concept to production.

Development involved:

Android application architecture
Flutter development
Dart development
Kotlin development
Android storage APIs
Scoped storage handling
Recursive filesystem scanning
File metadata indexing
Search architecture
Filtering architecture
Hidden file detection
Media discovery
Shizuku integration
Android foreground services
MediaSession integration
Audio playback
Video playback
File previews
UI/UX design
Storage permission handling
Release signing
Google Play deployment
Open-source project management
Privacy documentation
Production testing
Release maintenance

🌐 Open Source

MediaRescue is open source and released under the MIT License.

The source code, releases, and development history are available on GitHub.

GitHub: https://github.com/everythingfreee/MediaRescue

License: MIT License

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is MediaRescue?

MediaRescue is an open-source Android storage scanner and media discovery app for finding hidden, deeply nested, poorly indexed, and hard-to-find files on Android devices.

Does MediaRescue recover deleted files?

MediaRescue focuses on discovering files that still exist on accessible device storage. It is not a forensic deleted-file recovery tool and does not claim to recover data that has already been overwritten.

Does MediaRescue scan hidden files?

Yes. MediaRescue includes a Hidden Media feature that identifies media using signals such as hidden directories, .nomedia files, unusual storage locations, and files missing from normal media indexing.

Can MediaRescue scan Android/data and Android/obb?

MediaRescue provides optional Advanced Scanning through Shizuku for supported devices and configurations.

Does MediaRescue upload files to the cloud?

No. MediaRescue follows a local-first architecture. File scanning and normal file processing happen on the Android device.

Does MediaRescue require an account?

No account is required.

Does MediaRescue work with SD cards?

MediaRescue supports removable SD card storage where Android provides access to the storage location.

What is Shizuku used for in MediaRescue?

Shizuku provides the privileged bridge used by MediaRescue's optional Advanced Scanning feature to access storage areas restricted by normal Android application APIs.

What Android files can MediaRescue find?

MediaRescue can discover images, videos, audio files, PDFs, and other files accessible through its storage scanning and browsing workflows.

Is MediaRescue open source?

Yes. MediaRescue is released under the MIT License and its source code is available on GitHub.

What version is MediaRescue?

The current portfolio entry tracks MediaRescue v1.0.9.

📊 Project Status

Property	Details
Project	MediaRescue
Platform	Android
Current Version	`1.0.9`
Package	`com.shaheer.mediarescue.mediarescue`
Status	Live
Source Code	Open source
License	MIT
Framework	Flutter
Languages	Dart, Kotlin
Advanced Scanning	Shizuku
Distribution	Google Play, Website, GitHub,Orion Store, APKPure, Softonic, Uptodown

🔑 SEO Keywords

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About This Project

MediaRescue started as a solution for a simple problem: files exist on Android storage that users often cannot easily find through a normal gallery.

The project evolved into a complete local storage discovery system with recursive scanning, indexed search, Smart Filters, Hidden Media detection, Advanced Scanning, media playback, large-file discovery, previews, and file browsing.

It is now a production Android application distributed through Google Play and multiple independent download channels while remaining open source on GitHub.

MediaRescue | Find files your phone forgets about