What is a Content Provider in the Android framework?

A Content Provider is fundamentally a component within the Android framework designed to manage and facilitate access to shared data between different applications. This includes not only the ability to store and retrieve data but also to define how other apps can interact with this data, ensuring robust data containment and protection.

By providing a standardized interface, Content Providers enable applications to share data such as user contacts, images, or any kind of structured data seamlessly and securely. This makes it easier for developers to create applications that can interact with others without needing to understand each application's underlying data management intricacies.

The other options do not accurately reflect the role of a Content Provider. Sending notifications between applications pertains more to the messaging framework; accessing files in internal storage relates to Android’s file management system; handling network requests is the domain of network-related components such as Retrofit or OkHttp. In summary, option B clearly identifies the main purpose of a Content Provider in the context of the Android ecosystem.