signalapp / signalapp/Signal-Android

Size discrepancy between camera preview and actual photo

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#14,490 14 comments 4 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
Kotlin
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Description

Guidelines
  • I have searched searched open and closed issues for duplicates
  • I am submitting a bug report for existing functionality that does not work as intended
  • This isn't a feature request or a discussion topic
Bug description

When taking a photo in the Signal Android app, the preview will show a certain way, and I'll frame the photo based on that.

After taking the photo, the result I'm presented with shows a lot more content than the preview would suggest, making it very difficult to properly frame stuff without having to crop in post and lose resolution.

Screenshots

Screenshot while taking/framing a shot in the Signal app:

Image

(Note also how the camera UI/buttons are abnormally high up on the screen compared to other similar apps.)

After taking the photo:

Image

Compare this to e.g. Telegram:

Before:

Image

After:

Image

There's some difference, but not as massive as in Signal.

Also compare with the stock camera app:

Before:

Image

After:

Image

Note how the stock app uses the correct aspect ratio for the sensor (4:3) and it correctly matches in both preview and actual taken photo.

Device

Google Pixel 8

Android version

16

Signal version

7.67.1

Link to debug log

https://debuglogs.org/android/7.67.1/2d446b555968c16eefb9989a2e022a7a9a5529a1a65a7816314fe97eb95da63d

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce the mismatch on the stated Google Pixel 8, Android 16, using Signal 7.67.1, and review the linked debug log for camera-related context. Trace the camera preview and photo-capture entry points, comparing their aspect ratios. Done means the framing shown in the preview matches the captured photo closely enough for reliable composition.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
kotlin
Domain
mobile
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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