Most of the articles in the X-Mobile section are devoted to hacks and tweaks that require rooting, modifying the firmware, or replacing it with a custom one. However, not every reader is ready to subject their smartphone to such operations, fearing that they can turn the device into a brick or lead to instability in operation. Today I will debunk these myths and show that even in the most stalemate situation, it is not so difficult to bring a smartphone back to life.

In addition to traditional permissions, Android has three metapermissions that open access to very dangerous APIs enabling the attacker to seize control over the device. In this article, I will explain how to use them so that you can programmatically press smartphone buttons, intercept notifications, extract text from input fields of other apps, and reset device settings.

For a long time, Android was known as a slow and insecure OS for losers unable to afford an iPhone. Is this still true, and was Android really so bad? Leaving aside the interface smoothness and OS capacity, I am going to briefly discuss the evolution of the worst element in Android: its security system.