Users of android ROMs or rooted devices are often unable to use certain apps because they make a request to google to check whether the phone is “safe” or “secure” or whatever wording they use. Is there a way to trick those apps? Pretend to be google, remove/replace the google check, or even intercept the check at runtime and return that “everything is alright”?

Game have been hacked, cracked, or what for ages. It’s surely possible with android apps, isn’t it?

  • @[email protected]
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    172 days ago

    There are three levels of security, and it depends on what your app will check for.

    Basic: This is essentially unsecure at this point, and any app that checks for security will almost certainly check for a higher level. If you root your phone, you likely will just show “basic.” Netflix will be low quality and most banking apps will not work, even if you use the default root features to hide your root.

    Device: This is considered the norm for security checks and current peak efficiency point for accessing secure apps. You can spoof this level of security with Magisk if you are rooted (optionally unlocked), plus Play Integrity Fix as a plugin to Magisk. Note that you have to keep it updated - it is based on spoofing a device fingerprint that is shared at the plugin-level, and which Google periodically blocks. You can also learn to find your own fingerprint if you are tech savvy, but it could still be blocked and can be time-consuming. This is the minimum level to use Google Wallet NFC payments and most banking apps. If done right, Netflix will stream high quality as well.

    Strong: This is the highest level of security, which an app thinks will only be present if you have a fully locked bootloader and are unrooted. Some banking apps require this now, but a year from now, it likely will be the norm. A year ago, this wasn’t able to be spoofed, but now there is something called Tricky Store that can spoof this and show Strong security to apps even when unlocked and rooted. However, it is much more complicated to set up - be prepared to join sketchy Telegram groups and scrounge for elusive security files.