google play store part
I remember a while back hearing about custom google play store APKs, are they still a thing? And if so, could someone explain them to me? (Or just send a link to them)
I’ve tried Mobilism, but the search is locked behind a login and their activation emails aren’t reaching my inbox.
rooting part
Could someone help me root my phone?
I’ve never rooted phones before, and I can’t find any trusted information on how to root my specific model of phone.
I have a Samsung A03s, please ask me if you need information.
Don’t root your phone. It gives everything on your phone root access to do whatever it wants, which totally invalidates all of your phone’s security measures and leaves you completely unprotected. Nothing worth doing to your phone needs root, and there’s almost always a way to do whatever you want to do without rooting.
@AphoticDev
Unless Google opens it up in revenge, then no, not totally unprotected. But they did set the rooting path to expand the attack surface needlessly.
It’s a consequence of locking up your device, so you can’t control it to serve as a vehicle for ads, DRM, and data mining.
Security 3rd, otherwise there would be no problems with patching.
F.e. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-android-patch-gap-makes-n-days-as-dangerous-as-zero-days/
Still one needs to be VERY aware what consequences rooting has.
->
@moosetwin
@AphoticDev
-> (@GrapheneOS offers a good way out of this, but it’s only for Google hardware, which is in the race to the bottom with stripping hardware features.)
@moosetwin
This is bullshit. If that was true, Linux would be the most unsecure OS in the world, since it’s users always have access to sudo.
On Android phones with root, you have a root access manager, which controls root for all apps. Any app that would like to use root access has to go through your root manager to request it, which asks the user if they’d like to grant access. Usually, the Magisk app handles this, but in the past other root apps like SuperSU used to be used.
If you don’t grant access to root, the apps on your phone have only as much access as on an unrooted phone. Root doesn’t make your phone less secure, apart from physical attacks due to the unlocked bootloader.