I've been a flashaholic since the CWM days, but I haven't rooted since probably 2017 or so. Back in the day, rooting was practically necessary for a good UX, but Android's matured enough now that I haven't had the need for a few years.
this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023
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Necessary is a matter of perspective, and what it is you need your device to do. Mine is that if you don't have root (or equivalent) on a computer, you don't really own it. That's a philosophical point more than a practical one - I'd want root even if I didn't currently have a use for it.
Practically, here are some things I use root for in 2023:
- Advanced charge controller - limit battery charge to extend service life. Some devices have a built-in option now, but it's usually only a single switch for 85%. I usually set it to 60%.
- Backup of apps with their data (Neo Backup), to install onto another device or after a factory reset - I don't think there's a way to do anything like this without root.
- Mounting remote devices for access by arbitrary apps using EasySSHFS - I don't think there's a good equivalent.
- Accessing exfat format external drives, like the SD cards in my camera using MiXPlorer's built-in filesystem drivers. Android is an asshole for not supporting more filesystems. It's Linux; the support already exists.
- Hosts file ad blocking - DNS ad blocking is a viable alternative now.
If something blocks me from using it with root, I'll give it a 1-star review on Google Play and probably not use it even if I can get around the blocking. If my bank starts using more effective blocking, I will probably change banks.
Quite to the contrary, my phone doesn't even support rooting. Neither TWRP or any other alternative bootloader is written for the Motorola G73, and an image file isn't available to use with Magisk. I would love to root my phone, if I could.
It's useful but pretty much impossible on most flagships
Rooting is more security compromising than it's worth. There are a small set of use cases I could see but for the most part do either or below.
If you have a Pixel you would want to run GrapheneOS for maximum security and privacy.
All other phones you would ADB remove bloatware, run PrivateDNS with NextDNS or an alternative, and turn off as much analytics/permission/features as possible for a functional phone.