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mcintyre1994

I guess the rule is just no root without the user asking for it in some way? The Nexus 5 is unlocked, but it's not root by default. I definitely agree with that rule, I don't think it should be difficult but it definitely shouldn't be default. I'm a big fan of the sudo approach in some Linux distros.

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It's better to have root access disabled by default on phones sold to the general public since they are more likely to just click the "Allow root access" button because they don't understand the security implications of allowing root access.

Can somebody identify just exactly what the "security implications of allowing root access" are? Are we referring to unrestricted escalation with sudo by an unprivileged user/app?

CyanogenMod has never allowed sudo without confirming it with a UI, or only allowed it for a few days back when it launched.

Yes, root access is system-level root access

A user that does not know what the security implications of root access are will most likely just click "allow" when presented with a dialog

I think you are conflating issues, the Nexus 5 is only unlocked in the sense of being able to take it to any carrier. The bootloader is shipped locked but is easily unlockable by the user.

In terms of DRM the bootloader is not locked. The 'locking' is only a security toggle.

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