Applications, just like Android does, should follow the principle of the least privilege. Therefore, they should be able to work properly using less permissions as possible.
Modern applications don't need
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE anymore. They can access files/directories without that permission.
There are some examples of applications which already use that approach, including but not limited to;
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Applications, just like Android does, should follow the principle of the least privilege. Therefore, they should be able to work properly using less permissions as possible.
Modern applications don't need android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE anymore. They can access files/directories without that permission.
There are some examples of applications which already use that approach, including but not limited to;
Notally
PdfViewer
keepassdx
MelonDS Android
Those are just few examples.