Want to root your android phone? Here are the 4 important things you need to know before rooting your Android phone.
The power of elevated privilege can extend from being promoted to a higher position, to being elected into a higher office, or to being given more authority in your relevant field. What if this same school of thought could extend to downloading and installing any app that you want without worrying about the restrictions put on your device by its manufacturer?
Read Also: Top 10 best apps for rooted Android phones
In computing or computer science, the highest level of privilege is referred to as root access. This means that you and the system almost have the same access rights and can do anything within your device for as long as the hardware supports it. This article is going to focus on the dangers of rooting Android phones while not ignoring their merits.
All mobile devices come with operating systems that are installed during manufacture to enable you to install applications from their respective stores such as App Store for iPhone users, Play Store for Android users, and Store for Windows to mention but a few. They also give you the option to install particular applications from other sources except for iPhone but the applications are often limited.
How about if you are a security researcher or an advanced user or just want to explore that field? Will you be able to download any app you may need for this purpose? The simple answer is NO. The third-party apps that are used for this purpose are not allowed to run on your device.
Normally, the application store that has applications for your device has restrictive measures that closely scrutinize any application before it is uploaded to it. To make it possible for this purpose, tech-savvies have devised a means where you can install any application on an Android device from any source.
To do this, you will first have to elevate your privilege within your device by rooting it. Yes, rooting.
Contents
What does rooting your Android phone mean?
Rooting is a process that allows you to attain root access to the Android operating system code. The equivalent term for Apple device id is jailbreaking. There are significant risks to doing this, especially in the corporate environment. There are apps such as Kingroot that will guide you through this step but let’s discuss the risks of doing this.
4 Reasons why you shouldn’t root your phone.
1. Voided Warrantee
It is an old cliché that when you buy a device, you get a period of time within which you can take it back when it becomes faulty or spoilt. However, if you root your device and get a problem during the process or in the future even before your warrantee expires, you are not eligible for a replacement or repair because you have tampered with it and the loss is solely on you and not the seller.
2. Reduced security
Since you have gained the highest level of administration, you become responsible for the security of your phone because you won’t be able to get updates based on security from your operating system manufacturer and it becomes more of a ‘You are on your own’ basis.
According to a 2015 survey completed jointly between Market Cube and Lookout, 7 percent of those surveyed rooted their device. While the number seems small, many individuals failed to ensure that their work was secure. This puts a company’s data at risk of compromise because employees use these devices to send work-related documents to others or simply to their personal accounts.
3. Installing apps not recommended for your phone
Since the operating system limits the apps you are supposed to install, elevating your privilege presents you with more options. Among those options, you can download and install apps that may have greater access to your personal information such as your contact list, account login details without asking for your permission therefore violating your privacy.
The best remedy for this is rooting a device you don’t use as your primary device for your personal information.
4. Lose your phone
I should have included this as the first risk above but for special reasons, I though writing it last would be better. Most of us who are accustomed to our mobile devices and can hardly live without them for a long time would consider losing a phone as the last thing in our minds.
But in the event that you are in the process of rooting your phone and all of a sudden, it blacks out? You press the power button but your phone does not turn on. This means your phone has been bricked and there is nothing you can do about it. Here you only consider buying a new one and it’s an experience you wouldn’t want to have especially if you haven’t planned on spending your income in buying a new device, trust me.
Conclusion
There are more risks in using a rooted device such as unpredictability in the behavior of the device and making information you share with your friends using file-sharing apps vulnerable whereas installing the apps you love or want to use can present you with enormous opportunities which are beyond the scope of this article.
If you root your device successfully and feel like you are tired of using a rooted device, you can always unroot it and go back to using it as it was before.