The discussion I stumbled upon, about this SSH app for Android, is really worrying. Will Google really manage to make it impossible to root your phone?
But there’s more to this, it’s more complicated. In the Big Picture, Google has every incentive to make these changes — they lead to more security, and they’re aligned with Google’s corporate goals as well.
- When talking to users, Google will emphasize control over hackers.
- When talking to stockholders, Google will emphasize control over users.
Edit: I disagree with “they lead to more security”. That’s not “security”, let’s not turn words upside-down.
If android were GPL 3 the users would be protected from “tivoization” aka locked hardware. Too bad Google don’t want that happen
And it also couldn’t be installed on any phone.
If at least Linux kernel were GPLv3 we’ll be safe from OEMs preventing unlocking bootloader.
If whole Android was GPLv3… Too good to even imagine, it’s not going to happen anyway so why even imagine…