AppManager

It is - and there are other ways to make that shortcut appear even without an app. But that app also got nerfed some time ago, and in general, even when file managers can access Android/data, that folder is missing many subdirectories, and most of those that can be seen, are empty. For some reason, you can get at some more files and folders in this structure if you plug the phone to your PC (this is apparently intentional). But none of that gives you access to any of the interesting/useful data applications store, and then applications also have a special super-private folder elsewhere. You can learn that and more through an app like https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager running in ADB over Wi-Fi mode (no-root).

Better off disabling advertising components, which of course needs root. There's tools like AppManager for that - https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager/

avbroot is not officially supported by CalyxOS or GrapheneOS, but it does work with both OSes. The point of avbroot is to make root access available to trusted Android apps while leaving commands such as "fastboot flash" and "fastboot erase" disabled. There will always be a subset of users who prioritize functionality over security. This includes anyone who would root an Android device (and anyone who would use a desktop computer running most distributions of Linux, macOS, or Windows). I'll be glad to reconsider using root on Android if all of the functions of App Manager's "block trackers" feature[1] and Basic Call Recorder[2] were available on Android without root. [1] App Manager: https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager [2] BCR (Basic Call Recorder): https://github.com/chenxiaolong/BCR

For stuff that can't use fdroid, check out obtainium, it can pull releases directly from GitHub, etc. Shizuku is also useful for background-installing apps via some of the fdroid alternative clients (and some apps like Tachiyomi can use it for extensions and other local-adb things), as is App Manager for background-installing apps via local adb. https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium https://github.com/RikkaApps/Shizuku https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager

Adding to the list of things that you can do with root on Android: - App Manager[1] has a powerful feature that lets you disable trackers in every single app on the device. (Menu > 1-Click Ops > Block/unblock trackers) - Neo Backup[2] is the most comprehensive backup app on Android, with automatic scheduling. It lets you back up and restore anything you want, including app data that the developer labeled "no_backup". - Install and upgrade apps from third-party app stores without needing to manually confirm each installation. Extremely useful for Aurora Store[3] and Neo Store.[4] - Universal SafetyNet Fix,[5] combined with MagiskHide Props Config[6] and Magisk,[7] allows you to spoof SafetyNet on your device to improve compatibility with apps that check for it, including some banking apps, commerce apps, and games. > trusting Magisk, going

It depends on how the developer chooses to implement the notifications and on how the app is distributed. The Play Store distribution of Signal uses Firebase Cloud Messaging (via Google Play Services or microG) and falls back to WebSockets if FCM is unavailable. The website distribution[1] of Signal only uses WebSockets. I don't think Signal tries to detect whether the phone is Chinese, only whether FCM is available. Since Google services (including FCM) are blocked in China, apps that serve both Chinese and non-Chinese users usually find some way to support both FCM and the Chinese equivalents. For example, Airbnb serves users both inside and outside of China, so they distribute two builds of their app. The Play Store distribution of Airbnb relies solely on FCM for push notifications. The Chinese distribution of Airbnb,[2] according to a

Tech discussion begins at 14:00. At 21:00 [0] Snowden calls for [developers to build] smartphone tools to let users take control of their devices (wouldn't be for the first time). While a no-root, user-space firewall can only do so much (Daniel Micay will attest to that [1] :), that's what we are building with RethinkDNS (https://github.com/celzero/rethink-app) for Android phones, picking up where WhisperSystems left off [2]. This other complementary Android app (doesn't require root, but does require "developer mode" turned on) I use, gives a lot more control over installed apps and its components (no so much over the device's network itself): https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager While Google continues to make significant improvements [3], security-focused Android distributions like CalyxOS and Graphene remain the best avenues to

Ex-AOSP hacker here. I felt it strongly at the time too that Android didn't need anti-Malware [0] but I don't anymore. Some 5 years ago, I switched to Firefox Mobile out of annoyance because Chrome refused to block all those popups random websites would show with some prompting an app install. Google has since made a lot of improvements including tightening up which apps can install other apps (not a blanket permission anymore), running the Potentially Harmful Applications program, narrowing down fingerprinting (still some way to go as evident by TFA). Google is even locking the code up that runs outside of Android in crosvms [1]. I'm positive, things will improve [2] even if slowly because Android, at this point, is the most widely distributed OS and they can't move as fast anymore without hurting developers and users. Google did impleme

> #1 things I want to control is app permissions. Android AppManager [0] (if you're willing to spend the time configuring it via the command line) might help here. > If an app "needs" my location, it should get a random spot in the world. If it "needs" my contacts, it should get an empty list. Some Chinese OEMs do have these features. I know ColorOS (Oppo and Realme) does. > If an app "needs" my network, it should see that it's offline. Android 11 natively exposes ability to firewall apps individually. All major Chinese OEMs (Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, OnePlus, Vivo) have supported this for a long time. > The #2 thing I want to control is data going out. There are two or three no-root firewall solutions on the PlayStore (disclaimer: I built one, too). > #3 is having security updates forever, rather than sudden EOL with no notice. Legacy device