Compared to the billions of regular Android users, the number of people who root their Android phones or install custom ROMs is minuscule. While I wouldn’t say Google is actively hostile towards these power users, the company’s efforts to strengthen Android app security have the unfortunate side effect of negatively impacting their experience. Google’s latest update to the Play Integrity API, for example, makes it easier for developers to protect their apps from abusive users while also making it significantly harder for legitimate power users to utilize certain applications.
The Play Integrity API is a tool developers can use to verify that inbound interactions and server requests come from an unmodified version of their app binary running on a genuine Android device. Many developers use this API to mitigate app abuse that could lead to revenue or data loss. For example, the API can help prevent users from accessing premium content without paying, or it can help safeguard sensitive financial data by preventing access on devices that could potentially be compromised.
