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There's not nearly enough awareness of this. Even with root access, on modern Android you have to set up a virtual USB connection just to get at the files in the data folders of android apps if you want to, for example, sync the savegames between your mobile emulators and your desktop emulators. It's fucking disgusting. With every new edition they shave off a little more user agency.

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It's sad how Google has perverted what Android was meant to be.

What do you mean "a virtual USB connection"? With root access I can see all the files on my Android phone.

A PC can access those folders but even with root and "all files access" android file managers can't on recent versions of Android. Shizuku or apps like it allow file managers to access those folders by pretending to be a PC. Folders like the contents of android/data for each app. Without it you just see empty folders. It's ridiculous.

Hmm really? That sucks, I guess this is after 14 or so? I'm running 12 or 13.

Right. Personally I think Android has gotten worse with every single update since 4.4

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