A quick note
If you've come from Google Play to get support, welcome! I'm glad you made it here.
Please do post a description of the problem you are having, but you may also want to read the section below labelled What should I do when it fails?, as this will make it much easier for me to provide support.
If you're having a problem, the place to post it is here, because if you do so on Google Play then I have no way of responding. Unfortunately, this has been the case where an issue has become apparent, and I have included a fix, but there is no way for me to notify those who had the problem.
In any case, back to our normal program...
What is it?
PDroid Manager is an alternative OpenPDroid/PDroid 2.0 Management App. It is currently the 'official' management app for OpenPDroid, and serves as an alternative to the PDroid 2.0 App for PDroid 2.0.
It is GPL licensed (with additional attribution conditions). Source can be obtained from my github.
What does it need?
First, this relies on either the OpenPDroid Core/Framework patches (recommended), or the PDroid 2.0 Core/Framework patches being present in the ROM. You need to have them installed, either by getting the patches (OpenPDroid, PDroid 2.0), patching and compiling a rom yourself; or using the excellent autopatcher tool by mateorod and pastime to patch an existing rom.
It also requires Android 4.1.2 or 4.2.1.
Status
This app is in a supremely alpha state. It does have bugs. It will crash if you run it without the PDroid core/framework patches. It does have a problem with the way notification icons display if you install multiple apps without configuring them. It will crash in a range of other situations I haven't thought of yet.
It will crash if you try to use it while you have the PDroid 2.0 App installed. (It's a permissions signature thing, and you can't have both installed unless you resign them both yourself: see here for how to do that.)
It has been tested on three devices a Galaxy Nexus running AOKP, and a B&N Nook (cheers to mateorod) and a Nexus 7 running AOSP.
Probably others too now, what with people using it, but I don't have a list for that =)
What is the difference between this and the PDroid 2.0 App
This is an ALPHA status tool, so it has more bugs.
This isn't complete - it is missing useful things like an 'about' box, the ability to check the PDroid core version, backup & restore, all of which are in the PDroid 2.0 App.
It can keep logs of application activities. There is currently no way to view these, though. Logs are now (I think?) supported in PDroid 2.0 App. I haven't tried them though.
You can filter the app list by whether it is a system or user app, and by the type of permissions used. Now also in PDroid 2.0 App.
You can filter apps by the 'type' of permission they use - e.g. 'messaging', 'calls', etc.
The source is available.
It can create and restore multiple (human-readable) backups on your SD card or 'external storage'.
It supports multiple languages, thanks to the contributions of others (languages and contributors are listed below) PDroid 2.0 App now supports German and English (but not Russian and French).
Did I mention it has more bugs?
What is the difference between this and Permissions Denied, and other permission-modifying apps
In brief: OpenPDroid and PDroid 2.0 do not actually change the permissions of apps; rather, they intervene when the apps try to use some of the features allowed by these permissions. For example, it doesn't remove permission for an app to use the camera - instead, it lets the app believe it is using the camera normally but then feeds back a fake image when a 'photo' is taken. Similarly, the app can try to request the phone number from the phone, but PDroid can return either a blank number, or a fake number, to the app. The main advantage of this is that rather than the app crashing, as often happens if it finds expected permissions have been removed, it continues to operate simply using incorrect data as its input.
The downside is that PDroid requires modifications to the ROM, which is difficult.
What should I do when it fails?
First, check if the problem you have discovered is a known issue, by looking at issues on my github. If if has already been lodged, but you have additional information to add, then ideally attach it to the issue in github. Otherwise, you can post it here but please clearly refer to the existing issue in github when doing so.
If it is not a known issue in the github:
You can open an issue on my github, providing a logcat: see how to get a logcat.
You can post on this thread, providing a logcat. I will try to monitor this thread, but if it starts getting out of control then I will probably try to run up a bug tracker somewhere else for people to use (and I will always fall back on the github issue tracker).
When will you stop telling me about the bugs and give me a link?
I have added PDroid Manager to the Play store, so you can obtain it from there (which means easier updating). If you do get it from the Play store, remember that support is provided via this thread, not via the Play store comments. I have only added the app to the Play store as a convenience so people can get updates without monitoring this thread.
Check the attachments to this post for the PDroid ALPHA releases. Make sure you read that ALPHA part.
Source at my github.
Requirements: Android API 16 (i.e. 4.1.2 - haven't tested in 4.2 yet).
What does it look like?
This:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Why did you build it?
The original PDroid app by Syvat, and the subsequent PDroid Addon/Extension/2.0 apps by CollegeDev didn't do everything I wanted them to do. I couldn't modify them because I didn't have the source. I'd never created an app before and I wanted to give it a shot.
Why does it need permission to access my SDCard?
I've added the ability to backup and restore your settings to the external storage. In order to do this, I need to be able to write to, and read from, the external storage. I will be adding a version at some point which doesn't require this permission, and cannot do backups.
Isn't doing backups to the external storage really insecure? Couldn't another program edit my backups?
In general, doing backups to the external storage would be insecure, in two ways: other apps could read your settings from the backup, and other apps could edit the backup so when you restore it your settings are wrong.
The ability for other apps to read your settings is a problem even ignoring backups. The Pdroid 2.0 Core (and the original PDroid Core) do not prevent applications from reading settings without any permissions whatsoever. Yes, any app can read your settings directly from the PDroid service. That is the way the PDroid core is built at present (and I don't much like it, but that's another story).
The second problem is one that I have attempted to address. Each installation of PDroid Manager will generate a 'digital signing key', and any backup you create will be signed with this key. When you attempt to restore the backup, the signature is checked to ensure the backup (or signature) has not been modified. If the signature doesn't match, you are warned and given the opportunity to restore anyway. You cannot export this signing key, because exporting that key to your external storage would make it accessible to other programs, and with it they could re-sign your backups to make it appear that they had not been modified. This means if you uninstall and reinstall PDroid Manager, you will get 'invalid signature' warnings on all the backups made from previous installations. If you don't want this to happen, I recommend downloading and using Titanium Backup - it will store the encryption key (although on external storage, which itself could be a security risk). Thus, unless you uninstall and reinstall your PDroid Manager installation, the app will verify that backups have valid signatures before restoring them. Mind you, a root app could steal the signing key. As is always stated, for root apps it is all up for grabs.
I have a great suggestion! How should I get it to you?
First, keep in mind that there are various degrees of detail which can be provided with suggestions, such as:
A suggestion of a feature which could be included
A description of how the feature should work (e.g. user cases: list XYZ, then user presses N, dialog P opens, etc.)
Storyboards or images of what the feature could look like (even if it just a box diagram done in Powerpoint or something).
A suggestion of an app which implements a similar behaviour that could be used as a reference for implementation
A bit of example code
Suggestions of new features are excellent, and some suggestions need less description than others - e.g. "add a help button to each setting" needs less description than "add the ability to filter by the 'trust' state of the app" (although in both cases, interface diagrams could be helpful: e.g. should the help button go to the left or right of the text label for the setting?)
You don't have to provide all of these details, and indeed even if you do provide some details I may not actually use them (e.g. if your suggested images were very inconsistent with the Android UI idioms, or the rest of the app). You can certainly make suggestions that are quite simple: e.g. I would like to be able to apply settings to multiple apps at once, or I would like to be able to filter by individual settings rather than groups of settings (although the latter would be a good candidate for interface suggestions too). If you are suggesting complex features, though, some suggestion of how the interface should work could be handy too - even if I don't use the suggestions as such, they can be very useful for giving me different perspectives.
If you have a suggestion then please describe clearly the suggested feature, interface or behaviour change, or whatever your suggestion it may be. If it requires a new UI screen, or a change to an existing one, descriptions of how it should work, drawings or imagery (or pointing to another app) are very welcome.
In order of 'most desirable' to 'least desirable' (from my perspective) I suggest:
Post the suggestion to my github
Post the suggestion on this thread
PM me (this is low on the list because if I get a flooded PM box it will be hard to find anything).
Finally, remember nothing says "I'd love this feature to be in the app" like a patch to implement it
Can I contribute a translation?
Absolutely! I welcome translations! The process for doing a translation will depend on whether you have a github account or not.
Currently we have translations being contributed for:
English
French (jpeg729 and patrickpr)
German (TamCore)
Hungarian: appelsson
Russian (Beasty)
If you have a Github account
You can fork the PDroid Manager project, and create a "values-xx" directory for the relevant language (e.g. values-de for German). Into that directory, you will need to copy:
Files containing text displayed to the user are:
access_notification_text.xml, which is the text for notification messages provided to the user when an app attempts to accesses a particular type of data.
arrays.xml, which currently contains the text of the drop-down lists used for filtering, and the 'Untrusted, Trusted, No Settings' text displayed.
settings_strings.xml, which contains the text descriptions of each setting, and the associated help text. (I have *just* pushed an update to github for this file, so if you want to translate it make sure you do a pull).
strings.xml, which contains the 'general' strings used in the app.
Once you have created those files, you can commit them, and then create a 'pull request' so I know they are ready to be integrated. I'll then integrate them.
If you don't have a github account
You will need to download the four files linked above, and translate the strings in them. Once you have done that, post to this thread with the files attached.
Remember:Keep in mind that if you have the files sitting around for a while in a partially translated state, they could change in development! When doing translations, make sure you have the latest version from the server. If you find that the strings etc have changed on the server, and you have done a partial translation, you can use a tool like WinMerge to merge the new changes into your file without a lot of work.
Also, if you are creating translation files, please include yourself as an @author in the header to the file, or nominate the details you would like to have recorded against your authorship. Also note that basically the entire app is under a GPL license, and I will only accept material which is licensed under a GPL or BSD license, to make sure that people are free to copy and edit the code as they see fit.
What do you have planned next?
Fix bugs
Add a 'preferences' and 'info' screen to check PDroid core/framework version, etc mostly done
Add help to the individual settings, so users can understand what they mean DONE!
Add the ability to view log and delete logs
Add the ability to create 'profiles' - i.e. pre-configured groups of settings, which can then be applied to an app
Add batch processing, so profiles can be applied to multiple apps in a single action Released in 0.9.3
Add filtering of apps by individual settings, not just by 'setting group'.
Add filtering of apps by setting state (i.e. trusted, untrusted, no settings)
If you want you can give it a go. Read the source. Have fun. Just don't complain that you haven't been warned about it being buggy.
2013-01-15 v0.2.9.9 ALPHA
Changes
Added support for 4.2.1 - not that it stopped you installing it anyway, but for Google Play it mattered =)
Added Spanish support, thanks to alceasan.
2013-01-12 v0.2.9.8 ALPHA
Changes
Fixed a force-close affecting everyone as a result of a corrupted APK. Sorry about that, all!
2013-01-12 v0.2.9.7 ALPHA
Changes
Added Hungarian language support thanks to appelsson.
Updated French language support thanks to jpeg729.
Fixed (I think) a bug in which the app crashed when an installed app does not have an icon.
2012-12-15 v0.2.9.5 ALPHA
Changes
Theoretically fixed a bug which I was unable to reproduce (but I think I know why) which caused a crash rather than a friendly message when a user attempted to run PDroid Manager without the PDroid core installed.
CHANGE LOG
2012-12-15: v0.2.9.4 ALPHA
Changes
Added detection of whether necessary permissions to write to the PDroid core were present, and provide a friendly message if they are not. (These permissions are absent if PDroid 2.0 App is installed before PDroid Manager, not uninstalled before PDroid Manager is installed, and the two packages have not been re-signed with the same key).
Otherwise, this version is identical to v.0.2.9.3. It was just added because I saw some crashes due to PDroid 2.0 App being installed with Google Play users.
2012-12-14: v0.2.9.3 ALPHA
Changes
The main stand-out of this release is batch processing: further details about that are after the list.
Instead of crashing if you don't have PDroid installed, it will now give you a message telling you that you need to install it.
Batch processing: you can now select a bunch of apps, and change their settings. Long-press on an app to enter selection mode, touch other apps to select or deselect them, then use the action bar options to choose what to do.
Added a 'purge settings' option to preferences. This deletes all settings for all apps.
Changing language now triggers a restart of the app (after prompting the user) to immediately switch language
Restructured the filtering interface to work better on smaller devices, and generally look nicer.
Info/help buttons for settings only appear on larger devices now (due to screen real-estate issues). Clicking on the name of the setting will display the help on smaller devices.
Performance improvements
Known bugs
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing). Still.
I think there is still something funny going on with the 'trust' indicator after you save an app, but that may be a new issue. Still.
App names in the application list don't get reloaded when the phone locale changes, which means they stay in the old language until manually refreshed. I'm no longer going to call this an issue, because it is handled by the OS.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
Key points about batch processing:
When you select some apps and choose 'custom settings', only the settings relevant to the apps will be displayed (unless you choose 25+ apps; then it was too slow to work out which ones were relevant).
Only those settings you select new values for will be changed. Those with no pressed buttons will be left alone.
You can 'deselect' a button in batch mode by pressing it again (effectively clearing that setting row, so it will not be changed).
Batch processing can be a bit slow, but unfortunately that is a consequence of the Privacy service to which PDroid Manager connects. I have modified this service to improve performance, but I'm still testing the changes so the app does not require those modifications.
You can't avoid overriding the 'logging' and 'notification' settings when doing batch processing at this stage. I will resolve this soon.
2012-12-07: v0.2.8 ALPHA
This is a minor update: It provides an updated German translation from TamCore, and
Changes
Updated German translation from TamCore,
fixes the Application List scrolling back to the top when you open details for an application, thus losing your place.
Known bugs
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing). Still.
The app will probably crash if PDroid is not installed. Still.
I think there is still something funny going on with the 'trust' indicator after you save an app, but that may be a new issue. Still.
App names in the application list don't get reloaded when the phone locale changes, which means they stay in the old language until manually refreshed. Still.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
2012-12-03: v0.2.7 ALPHA
A couple of new features in this one, and returning to just one version (rather than multilingual and English). The backup and restore features are shiny and new, and *should* work, but be cautious when using them. I've tried them out quite a bit, with custom settings etc, but there could be bugs there that will cook all your PDroid settings. If you find one, please, please report it (see the section on reporting bugs).
Changes
Added a 'preferences' screen, with 'About' box, 'Credits', and a link to this thread
Added language selection (i.e. overriding phone language), again in the preferences screen. Note that for the language to change, you need to force-close and restart PDroid Manager after switching languages. I'm looking at how to resolve this.
Added backup and restore of settings. This requires access to your external storage, hence the new permission. I will be adding supporting code at some stage to allow a separate version without backup and restore to be easily generated for those who are uncomfortable with SDcard access by the app. You can read more details about the backup approach in the Why does it need permission to access my SDCard? and Isn't doing backups to the external storage really insecure? Couldn't another program edit my backups? sections.
Known bugs
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing). Still.
The app will probably crash if PDroid is not installed. Still.
I think there is still something funny going on with the 'trust' indicator after you save an app, but that may be a new issue. Still.
App names in the application list don't get reloaded when the phone locale changes, which means they stay in the old language until manually refreshed. Still.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
2012-11-30: v0.2.6 ALPHA
This release has two versions: Forced English (PDroid_Manager_0.2.6_en) and multilingual (PDroid_Manager_0.2.6_multilingual). The multilingual will automatically use the language matching the phone where possible. The 'en' version uses the exact code I intend to apply to allow users to override the automatic language selection. Basically, this is the same as having a button to force the app to always use English, except the button isn't on the user interface and is always pressed. If you find this isn't always showing English, please let me know so I can fix it.
Changes
Incorporated updated help text (fine work by wbedard, to which I made minor edits. Thus, errors are probably mine not wbedards).
Added German translation (thanks to TamCore) and French translation (thanks to patrickpr on GitHub; note I removed a few words from the translations because the English help text changed, so may have introduced gramattical errors into patrick's French).
Added automatic language data re-loading. To optimise speed, some language-specific text is stored in the database. To make sure that stays up to date, the App will check if the language has changed, and regenerate that database data if it has. If this doesn't happen for you, and the interface stays in English when you switch your phone to German, etc, please report it..
Added different button sizes for 'large' vs 'non-large' devices. This means that buttons will appear larger on most 7-inch tablets (and maybe 10-inch tablets too; my 10-inch isn't working right now) than on phones.
Modified the code to use Android 'Fragments': hopefully, this will be invisible to users at this stage; however, in future it will allow easier development of a multi-panel tablet interface. This is a pretty major change, so may have introduced bugs. Sorry.
Updated notification bar icon to match Google's style guide.
Known bugs
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing). I will fix this soon, honestly.
The app will probably crash if PDroid is not installed.
I think there is still something funny going on with the 'trust' indicator after you save an app, but that may be a new issue.
App names in the application list don't get reloaded when the phone locale changes, which means they stay in the old language until manually refreshed. I'm undecided as to whether to I consider this a bug or not. Feedback (or patch to fix it) welcome.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
2012-11-25: v0.2.3 ALPHA
Changes
Added improved text for the access notifications
Added a help button for each setting with a summary of what the setting does (I know it is ugly, and I plan to fix that soon).
The application list status indicator should now work under all normal circumstances
Dialogs have been added when loading, saving etc. to avoid interactions that could cause crashes
Known bugs
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing).
The app will probably crash if PDroid is not installed.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
2012-11-19: v0.2.2 ALPHA
Changes
Re-added some debug logging (but still much less than was there originally).
Added the ability to delete privacy settings from an app, both in the application settings detail screen, and on the long-press menu on the application list.
The application list status indicator (i.e. trusted, untrusted, no settings) now updates after the long-press menu is used, or the settings are changes in the detail display
An 'all' option has been edited when filtering by the type of settings (e.g. messaging, media, etc).
Known bugs
The trusted/untrusted is sometimes incorrect - 'trusted' apps may appear as 'untrusted'.
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing).
The app will probably crash if PDroid is not installed.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
2012-11-16, later: v0.2.1 ALPHA
Removed writing to the device log (so logcat will not be hideously large)
Contribution to PDroid Manager acknowledgements (in alphabetical order):
mateorod: testing assistance, great ideas, building Autopatcher.
patrickpr: French translation
TamCore: contributing Android.mk, markdown for tables in README.md which were unreadable, German translation
wbedard: textual descriptions of the individual settings
Still playing with the 2e version. I like what you have done with this a lot. Having an open source version will keep us from being in-between working versions, like we were between gingerbread and the auto-patcher release.
An open source alternative like this keeps that from ever happening again.
I had noticed that CollegeDev had not added preloaded-classes to his PDroid2.0 build patches, a potential security leak. Without any access to the source or even version control with the patches I didn't have much recourse to correct the issue. I was left to suggest it in his thread and hope for the best. While he never brought it up again, I did finally see that the suggested change was integrated, but it struck me that having version control for the patches would be for the best as well.
In the spirit of having the entire process open AND available, I have pushed repos for the updated original PDroid patches, worked on by pastime1971 with some help from me, and the PDroid2.0 build patches (which I call PDroidCorePatches) by CollegeDev (which are already open-source, just not available with version control AFAIK) pushed as well.
If CollegeDev or you update the build patches for 4.2, we can either use those repos or start new ones, if necessary. But I am more than willing to add read/write to both of you. Wbedard has ported the PDroidCore patches to AOSP, but I will wait and see if he wants to put up a repo first before adding a new one (or possiibly a aosp-4.1.2 branch).
My hope is that the move towards complete open-source could galvanize all of us who work on PDroid to work together instead of splitting our efforts...we'll see how that goes.
Anyway, great job! I will eventually push the entire history (gingerbread to today) but for right now only 4.1.2 is up.
Original PDroid
PdroidCore
If anyone who has been working with us on Pdroid wants push access, pm me. Anyone who wants to contribute that I don't know yet, submit a pull request and we'll get to know you.
I think having the patches be attached to the same repo as the Auto-patcher and smali patches makes sense, but I am open to suggestion.
FFU5y said:
It is GPL licensed (with additional attribution conditions)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dear OP,
i was under the impression that GPL2 did not allow additional obligations (like attributions) being added to the burden of the receivers of the licensed code. however, i think GPL3 made special provisions for some extra obligations in other common permissive free software licenses (manly attributions) to make them compatible with GPL3, so there are some attribution provisions in GPL3 i think.
an example of GPL2 ban on additional restrictions: GPL3 enforces further obligations on receivers, such as non-tivoization, and thus is itself incompatible with GPL2 for the previously stated reason.
could you please clarify the method you chose to extend GPL with attributions in this case? thank you!
Lanchon said:
dear OP,
i was under the impression that GPL2 did not allow additional obligations (like attributions) being added to the burden of the receivers of the licensed code. however, i think GPL3 made special provisions for some extra obligations in other common permissive free software licenses (manly attributions) to make them compatible with GPL3, so there are some attribution provisions in GPL3 i think.
an example of GPL2 ban on additional restrictions: GPL3 enforces further obligations on receivers, such as non-tivoization, and thus is itself incompatible with GPL2 for the previously stated reason.
could you please clarify the method you chose to extend GPL with attributions in this case? thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The code is GPL3 licensed, and the additional attribution (and differentiation) requirement are under GPL3 Section 7 (b) and (c).
If there are specific contexts in which people would like to use the app that are excluded by GPL3, they are welcome to contact me about alternative licensing arrangements. Of course, as soon as others contribute GPL3-licenced code then that will get a lot more difficult, but right now that is an option.
I hope that answers your question, but if not let me know.
This is so absolutely awesome, thanks a lot FFU5y!
The filtering options for user/system apps and permission type are exactly what I needed. Further ideas would be:
search app by name
advanced filtering for a single specific permission, e.g. "start on boot"
batch operations: e.g. block network & gps location permissions for all apps
dbx4 said:
This is so absolutely awesome, thanks a lot FFU5y!
The filtering options for user/system apps and permission type are exactly what I needed. Further ideas would be:
search app by name
advanced filtering for a single specific permission, e.g. "start on boot"
batch operations: e.g. block network & gps location permissions for all apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers dbx - glad you're finding it useful.
These are good ideas (and indeed, I started on 'searching app by name' but de-prioritised it for release). I'll add them to my github issues list as enhancements (so they are listed somewhere centrally).
I'm not really sure at this stage how I'd go about implementing the filtering for a single specific permission, mainly because I'm not sure how to represent it in the user interface without cluttering it up.
One way may be to have a specific view for filtering by setting, which shows a list of settings, and then upon choosing a setting shows only the apps to which that setting relates (e.g. choosing 'GPS location' from the list of settings shows only those apps which have that as a valid setting - i.e. those with permission to access the GPS).
I'm afraid those features will probably take a little bit of time to develop, but hopefully you'll find the app useful in the meantime while I'm working on them.
Version 0.2.3 ALPHA has been relased:
CHANGE LOG
2012-11-25: v0.2.3 ALPHA
Changes
Added improved text for the access notifications
Added a help button for each setting with a summary of what the setting does (I know it is ugly, and I plan to fix that soon).
The application list status indicator should now work under all normal circumstances
Dialogs have been added when loading, saving etc. to avoid interactions that could cause crashes
Known bugs
When multiple apps are installed one after the other, the notification to update settings of previous installations is replaced (rather than additional icons appearing).
The app will probably crash if PDroid is not installed.
Also see my github list: https://github.com/wsot/pdroid-manager/issues
Hi, PDroid is a very important app, and I wanted to thank you for making an open source alternative with much more features.
Wish I was a dev, so I could help you more, but I will gladly test it the moment the autopatcher supports 4.2.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda app-developers app
Dr.69 said:
Hi, PDroid is a very important app, and I wanted to thank you for making an open source alternative with much more features.
Wish I was a dev, so I could help you more, but I will gladly test it the moment the autopatcher supports 4.2.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers =)
I'm eager to give it a run on 4.2 as well, but I am aware that CollegeDev is working on a new release of the PDroid 2.0 Core and App, so I'm not going to try to port the core to 4.2 until the update is released (otherwise there may be a lot of re-working needed, and if CollegeDev is porting it already then I'd just be duplicating work).
In the meantime, I'm going to try to get some fixes and new features into PDroid Manager which can then hopefully move smoothly to the 4.2 version.
Hello, i'm using Permission pro to remove rights i don't want from program, do your program works the same way, or rights are removed by an other way ?
Also, some Gameloft games have managed to get their start at boot rights back, with every programs i used, i was never able to kick them, so this is somewhat important to know, for me, if it will fail the same way.
Don't know if it's possible to do, but people not using Jelly Beans cannot block notification from a program, amybe we could get it with PDroid manager ?
Magissia said:
Hello, i'm using Permission pro to remove rights i don't want from program, do your program works the same way, or rights are removed by an other way ?
Also, some Gameloft games have managed to get their start at boot rights back, with every programs i used, i was never able to kick them, so this is somewhat important to know, for me, if it will fail the same way.
Don't know if it's possible to do, but people not using Jelly Beans cannot block notification from a program, amybe we could get it with PDroid manager ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The quick answer: PDroid and PDroid Manager do not block notifications from programs. In new version of Android, there is a feature to limit which applications can create notifications. If there are a lot of 'marketing' notifications you should report the app to Google (I think you can report it at the Play store) because they are starting to move against that kind of activity.
Anyway, continuing...
PDroid 2.0 (and PDroid Manager) work quite differently to permissions pro. First, PDroid 2.0 (which is the Android modification that PDroid Manager configures) requires a modification to be made to the ROM on the device. This allows for the Privacy Service to limit the access apps have to private information, even when they have Android permissions to access the information. The PDroid Manager App (or the alternative, PDroid 2.0 App) allows you to choose what private information is provided to what app.
So, in order to use PDroid Manager, you need:
A ROM patched to add the Privacy Servire, which you can achieve by either patching the source code yourself using the patches in the PDroid 2.0 thread and compiling the rom, or potentially by using mateorod and pastime's excellent autopatcher
PDroid Manager (or the PDroid 2.0 App) to configure
The advantages of PDroid over Permission pro is that with PDroid, the app still has the same Android permissions, but when the app requests data from the Android operating system the privacy service provides back blank or incorrect data. This means that rather than the app crashing, as often happens when its permissions are changed, it keeps running.
The main disadvantages of PDroid compared to Permission pro is that it requires changes to the Android frameworks, which means you need to be willing and able to modify your ROM in order to use PDroid. It is not 'easy', and it also means there is a delay before new Android version are supported because the patches for the framework need to be modified to support the updated framework.
I hope that helps.
Hello, thanks for your answer, on the autopatcher page, it's not clearly written if it will work on OEM's rom (but it's clearly written it won't on samsung/htc one)
I'm currently usng ASUS' stock rom and guevor's kernel, any chance to have it working ?
If the service reply false information, it's still able to block an app at boot ? to make it unable to start itself at boot ?
Magissia said:
Hello, thanks for your answer, on the autopatcher page, it's not clearly written if it will work on OEM's rom (but it's clearly written it won't on samsung/htc one)
I'm currently usng ASUS' stock rom and guevor's kernel, any chance to have it working ?
If the service reply false information, it's still able to block an app at boot ? to make it unable to start itself at boot ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Autopatcher will probably not work on an OEM ROM at this stage, unfortunately. That is something mateorod has been working on, but I believe it is still a work in progress. You can give autopatcher a try nonetheless, though. If it can't patch it, it will tell you. Also, if you search around the forums for your device, you may find someone has created special patches just for that device.
If you can get the ROM modded to include PDroid, then one of the features allows you to prevent an app being notified of when the device finishes booting. For those games, that means they would not be started when the device finished booting. However, it is possible that they may use a range of other ways to make sure they start which PDroid doesn't affect.
Probably the best way to deal with these types of problem apps is to use a tool that can 'freeze' the apps, and then just 'unfreeze' them when you want to use them. If they are giving you notification bar spam, you should definitely consider reporting them at the play store, too. Notification bar spam is against Google's current policies for the Play store.
Sorry I can't give you better news - patching of already-compiled OEM ROMs is not my focus area.
Hello, i already reported gameloft for their notification ads, and a video game doesn't need to be notified of system's start. Fact are they are "super dev" in play store and i doubt google will do anything.
PDroid seems more complete than Permission Pro, to make programs unable to acces data.
So, if i understand correctly, when i refuse a right to a program, the service will give blank information instaed of letting it see the real information. Does it have a big impact on the performances ?
I wouldn't mind switching rom, but it seems that no rom is able to install and keep all the data/configuration, means you have to use the custom rom since start or you're stuck if you want to keep things.
Edit : Seems Pdroid 2 is for 4.1.2+, my device use 4.0.3, will keep this thread bookmarked and will come back once i'll have enough courage to switch rom (since ASUS won't let us get the update anyway)
Hy!
enough if I flash in recovery the my ROM's update zip?
root required ? :fingers-crossed:
hmm
it looks like it works.
Thanks.
ROM:cm10 Flinny 129.
is possible into other languages translate?
acultr said:
is possible into other languages translate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easy. Translate this file and open a pull request or attach it here.
☑ [NEW OS] *SDK Package Up - Code �ther Kripton OS Apps *Take The Poll
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
We've developed a new Smart Phone OS called Æther v 0.1 Krypton.
It's a unique code you will find easy and very efficient to work with.
You might be wondering what the "Korephone" mention in the graphic above
is about. Our goal is once the Æther OS is completed we will launch our own
phone to be eventually as innovative as the Æther OS and may partner
with someone meeting our standards and Ideology to make it a reality.
For Starters take the POLL.
Only takes a few seconds!
We want to know what's important to you in an OS.
***Not sure why people are getting the SDK Package Installer errors.
Please ensure you run the Installer with as an Administrator.
A library needs to be put into the GAC, so it may require Admin rights.
Below is a Manual Work Around.
Manual SDK install instructions:
Install the file "Æther OS Application Contracts.dll" into the Windows GAC using
the Visual Studio Command Prompt (with Admin privileges.)
Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!GUckEQaB!O1wrt6IIBkDj8AJT49Tfz6WUMXyXWWWwLDj6apq7xFE
SDK Files. Use them as previously described in this thread:
https://mega.nz/#!LcsxATSB!gcwzluEeGo6yoqujWy6rWNuZ2Di4yNRvLAmxxhb9npw
All necessary APIs required in order to write 99% of apps is now complete
(the exception being some games and apps that do 3D graphics.)
Any extras which may be required will be added by request from any devs writing apps, of course.
The hardware rendering infrastructure is next, followed by hardware integration.
In the meantime devs have essentially everything they would need in order to write their apps.
Could you help us with Apps? Could be any of the ones listed below including their
Bounties or whatever app interests you to Develop in Æther OS.
Why the Æther Kripton OS was created:
"Linux creator says Windows, OS X, iOS and Android are all malware"
http://bgr.com/2015/05/26/ios-android-windows-mac-malware/
"Richard Stallman, known for his instrumental role in the creation of Linux, has written an opinion piece
arguing that nearly any operating system you might use today can be considered malware,
and that goes for popular mobile platforms as well as desktop operating systems."
*Let alone the front door access they are now providing.......
Besides being a possible antidote to all the above we simply want to bring you an awesome OS that will open the door
to the world of Coders and an incredible user experience. Join Us!
Special Requests: A: DEV to port CyanogenMod to a phone.
B: For a Live Streaming Video APP, ASAP.
Inquire Within and verify it's the Video App.
We're looking to attract quality individuals/coders who will want
to be involved at the ground floor of a new game changing
impervious platform unique to the Korephone.
Please post what apps you'd consider translating.
This is a rare opportunity.
Working with us here where it's starting will earn you an Æther "Guru status"
since you are the first and will be the most knowledgeable.
Æther SDK 0.3 Installer Full Package: NOTE: Some were getting error messages
so a "Manual Work Around was posted above. We are keeping this up till further notice
https://mega.co.nz/#!uRlHAaKS!Wzw8Q_0UhxMXFQN31NqnH5PMTAx1kDSpz29uKn0yeM8
Please familiarize yourself with what we have up till today and check back often.
QUESTIONS:
Q: "What language is this?”
A: Details are yet to be announced.
Q: “What do we export it to?”
A: To be announced.
Q: "When can I start"
A: 6th December earliest. December 12th is the official anticipated start date.
Q: "Why then for such an early thread?"
A: To line up the coders for a fast track completion of all Apps
and in case we get some API references done early.
Below is a GIF of the KorePhone OS running in the KorePhone Emulator.
Notice the GIF's Physical Size, Quality and tiny file size.
This was accomplished through the KorePhone's Æther OS v 0.1
http://i.imgur.com/j6L0Nrb.gif
******************************************************************
Updates listed by Date. Most recent first.
____________________________________________________________________
9-12-15
UPDATE:
The Coder who fell seriously ill a few months back is feeling well enough to do only the easiest coding work
so they decided they could at least make some simple apps and He recently posted them. If He feels a bit better
in the coming weeks and months He might tackle some of the more difficult apps and eventually be able to get the Æther OS on a device. One step at a time though. Just an hour meeting I recently had totally drained him and anyone who's been that ill knows what that is like.
Sincerely,
HD2
____________________________________________________________________
5-29-15
UPDATE:
***Not sure why people are getting the SDK Package Installer errors.
Please ensure you run the Installer with as an Administrator.
A library needs to be put into the GAC, so it may require Admin rights.
Below is a Manual Work Around.
Manual SDK install instructions:
Install the file "Æther OS Application Contracts.dll" into the Windows GAC using
the Visual Studio Command Prompt (with Admin privileges.)
Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!GUckEQaB!O1wrt6IIBkDj8AJT49Tfz6WUMXyXWWWwLDj6apq7xFE
SDK Files. Use them as previously described in this thread:
https://mega.nz/#!LcsxATSB!gcwzluEeGo6yoqujWy6rWNuZ2Di4yNRvLAmxxhb9npw
____________________________________________________________________
4-26-15
UPDATE:
After translating the majority of TOR over to Æther OS we decided to shelve the months worth of work.
Seeing how TOR works, it's unneeded bloat, flaws and it's Achilles heel
in it's exit nodes a decision was made to start from scratch.
The reasoning is the same that is the drive behind the Æther OS,
there has to be a better way that's more secure.
This was in mind prior to translating TOR into Æther OS taking months
deciphering how and why TOR works the way it does.
SEE OUR STATEMENT BELOW in our last Update announcement from 3-20-15:
"It's only the first step in our security endeavors we are bringing you and want to improve
the Æther OS security even beyond TOR."
Read the 1-6-15 Update as well...
This has been accomplished and is in testing.
____________________________________________________________________
3-20-15
UPDATE:
We promised to bring you a secure OS and mentioned we were working on additional security coding.
What we were working on is Translating TOR into the Æther OS which is just over 60% completed.
Those aware know this is a monumental task.
It's only the first step in our security endeavors we are bringing you and want to improve
the Æther OS security even beyond TOR.
____________________________________________________________________
1-30-15
We have added a huge coding task to the mix which has caused a delay in the hardware rendering and integration.
Soon as this security related coding endeavor is completed the hardware rendering will commence.
An update will follow when this transition happens.
____________________________________________________________________
1-6-15
Æther OS incorporates seamless Tor and VPN privacy protections. Developers need code only with similar objects and classes they are already familiar with within the .NET/Mono API and Æther takes care of the rest; however, this is merely the first implementation of the privacy layer and more seamless protections are being planned to be added: For example, what we shall refer to at present as "Tor 2.0" will add additional security and privacy protections to the platform and apps running on it.
____________________________________________________________________
1-5-15
New Release Additions: :good:
+ Video Input (input as webcam for emulation purposes)
+ Audio Output
+ Example app (including course code) showcases video input (as a box that can be moved around with the pointer) and audio output by audio generation when buttons are clicked.
+ Fully transparent Tor- and VPN-targeted classes which can be used (as alternatives) to the standard .NET implementations (e.g. AEtherSocket.) Full backend Tor and VPN infrastructure will be implemented on the device. For now the classes are there to be the methods and code building blocks by which seamless TCP security operations will take place in future, on the KOREphone.
+ Bug fixes
Æther SDK 0.3 Installer Full Package: NOTE: Some were getting error messages
so a "Manual Work Around was posted above. We are keeping this up till further notice
https://mega.co.nz/#!uRlHAaKS!Wzw8Q_0UhxMXFQN31NqnH5PMTAx1kDSpz29uKn0yeM8
:victory: All necessary APIs required in order to write 99% of apps is now complete (the exception being some games and apps that do 3D graphics.) Any extras which may be required will be added by request from any devs writing apps, of course.
The hardware rendering infrastructure is next, followed by hardware integration. In the meantime devs have essentially everything they would need in order to write their apps.
FYI: Attached is a summary of the OS components, it’s currently at just under 17K lines of code. That’s a lot more actual code; I’ve still yet to determine exactly how much that is but it’s easily double or triple the number.
____________________________________________________________________
PREVIOUS UPDATES
12-23-14
Combined and updated SINGLE DOWNLOAD Link:
OUTDATED SDK: DO NOT DOWNLOAD!
https://mega.co.nz/#!GI1H3IyI!v1GY3jSKnIkJfmQQV7bWEjwYNDL5pz7jUNMXu5P0Mlg
"I've made an installer, which takes care of stuff like adding assemblies to the GAC (so you don't need to do it manually).
[Which I tried to post here but the forum won't allow me to post links yet. I will ask HD2 to post it for me.]
The folders will go to the "Program Files (x86)" folder and a standalone emulator icon should be found on your Start Menu after the installation.
There are both C# and VB.NET Hello World examples with some added code demonstrating how to receive some events from the OS, such as "pointer down" and "pointer up" events, and "end app" event, delivered to the methods going by those names.
More to come within the next few days"
____________________________________________________________________
12-22-14
Updated API's, SDK, Documentation, Libraries, Explanations and Emulator info.
Outdated Links Removed:
"I've made an installer, which takes care of stuff like adding assemblies to the GAC (so you don't need to do it manually).
[Which I tried to post here but the forum won't allow me to post links yet. I will ask HD2 to post it for me.]
The folders will go to the "Program Files (x86)" folder and a standalone emulator icon should be found on your Start Menu after the installation.
There are both C# and VB.NET Hello World examples with some added code demonstrating how to receive some events from the OS, such as "pointer down" and "pointer up" events, and "end app" event, delivered to the methods going by those names.
More to come within the next few days"
____________________________________________________________________
12-19-14
More API's now fully Completed:
+ GPS
+ Gyroscope
+ Accelerometer
+ ÆtherTextBox
Plus a bug or two fixed!
____________________________________________________________________
12-15-14
Here is the Initial Introduction and essential API's and working Emulator. RE: the Components of the SDK.
This is undeniable evidence the Æther Kripton Mobile OS has been coded.
Detailed Explanation being compiled...
OUTDATED. Do not download.
https://mega.co.nz/#!qFlRkTpQ!Yn64mclLI4LnFz7iPYowf4LoJMBjOwch-egT3ueg4i8
Details are in the included NotePad File.
________________________________________________________________
12-13-14
Release date for Essential API's, SDK and Documentation: 12-15-14 --- Released.
_________________________________________________________________
11-27-14
We are in the process of requesting a separate Æther OS section on the XDA Forums.
The thread will be notified the outcome and if we cannot work something out there
we will create our own unique KorePhone Æther OS Developers Forum.
__________________________________________________________________
"Hi,
A new phone OS has been developed.
We are requesting it be listed as:
Æther OS
Could it be listed in it's above unique form.
Sincerely,
__________________________________________________________________
Sent to XDA Forums Administrator:
11-28-14
Hi,
I'm doing some leg work for a new OS under development called Æther OS.
It's booted in the Emulator and in next few weeks hope to have it on a device.
The RPI Reference is under development and may be posted in increments
so Apps could be developed sooner.
We would like to get a listing located next to "Jolla SailFish" , "Ubuntu Touch" and "Firefox OS"
since it is an OS.
I emailed twice over the last few days with no reply and we were hoping to get the listing
by Monday 12-1-14.
Please advise.
Most Sincerely,
___________________________________________________________________________________________
XDA:DevDB Information
☑ �ther OS App Coders Wanted, App for all devices (see above for details)
Contributors
HD2 crosshair
Version Information
Status: Testing
Created 2014-11-29
Last Updated 2015-10-18
Welcome!
This post Reserved for Testing and special announcements.
Bump after a slow weekend.
Example App
I'm the Dev for this project. For anyone who might be interested, here is some sample code for a simple app (the "Hello World" app.)
APIs are being worked on. So far there are some essential data types and GUI objects. Things are still in early stages of development although the OS is working well enough to be able to write apps with rudimentary GUI features thus-far. MUCH more to come.
Stay tuned.
public:
class Program
{
static Thread MainThread;
static void Main()
{
MainThread = new Thread(DoMainThread);
MainThread.Start();
}
static void DoMainThread()
{
_PrimarySurface = new ÆtherSurface();
_PrimarySurface.BackgroundColour = new ÆtherColour(138, 45, 228);
const float S = 0.48f;
var C1 = new ÆtherEllipse("Yellow Circle 1", new ÆtherPoint(0, 0), new ÆtherSize(S, S), new ÆtherColour(255, 255, 0));
_PrimarySurface.AddControl(C1);
var T1 = new ÆtherLabel("Label 1", new ÆtherPoint(), new ÆtherColour(30, 144, 255), "Segoe UI", 35f, ÆtherFontStyle.Bold, ÆtherTextAlignment.Centre);
T1.Text = "Hello";
_PrimarySurface.AddControl(T1);
var T2 = new ÆtherLabel("Label 2", new ÆtherPoint(), new ÆtherColour(30, 144, 255), "Segoe UI", 35f, ÆtherFontStyle.Bold, ÆtherTextAlignment.Centre);
T2.Text = "World!";
_PrimarySurface.AddControl(T2);
var Pulse = new AutoResetEvent(false);
while (true) {
C1.Position.X = _PointerInfo1.Position.X - S * 0.5f;
C1.Position.Y = _PointerInfo1.Position.Y - S * 0.5f;
T1.Position.X = _PointerInfo1.Position.X;
T1.Position.Y = _PointerInfo1.Position.Y - 0.06f;
T2.Position.X = _PointerInfo1.Position.X;
T2.Position.Y = _PointerInfo1.Position.Y + 0.06f;
RaiseEvent_UpdateSurface();
Pulse.WaitOne(48);
}
}
UPDATE:
The Code is progressing nicely with over 7,400 lines of written code.
Some bugs were dealt with and the OS is performing smoothly.
Essential API's, Documentation and a basic SDK should be released in a week.
We are hoping to present what's needed for a Live Video App.
The GIF showing the inclusion of the korecoin wallet app.
So, is this how an operating system for bankers as it was featured on finances?
Gesendet von meinem XT1039 mit Tapatalk
This looks too much as some kind of android fork to me and what kind of lunetic would nowdays choose java as platform for mobile os?
keenofhiphop said:
So, is this how an operating system for bankers as it was featured on finances?
Gesendet von meinem XT1039 mit Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks KEEN,
And Keen and Hip you are to the issues of the day.
I tend to use the word "banksters" myself.
Actually it's fantastic to see what HipHop is doing again.
Check out "The Real News Network" on YouTube.
No worries here and thanks for bringing this very important topic to light.
Sincerely,
HD2
Puresoul_CZ said:
This looks too much as some kind of android fork to me and what kind of lunetic would nowdays choose java as platform for mobile os?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hiya PureSoul,
You will be pleasantly surprised and we are looking for "Skilled Coders to Translate".
Best and hope to see you around.
BTW- My sis was in Prague a few years ago looking for our lineage
that took her across a few countries boundaries as the borders were constantly rearranged.
HD2
Nice to hear that, is there some public git or svn?
HD2 crosshair said:
Hiya PureSoul,
You will be pleasantly surprised and we are looking for "Skilled Coders to Translate".
Best and hope to see you around.
BTW- My sis was in Prague a few years ago looking for our lineage
that took her across a few countries boundaries as the borders were constantly rearranged.
HD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Puresoul_CZ said:
Nice to hear that, is there some public git or svn?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are not publishing the Code at this time
and are looking for app Coders to translate apps for the Æther Krypton OS.
Wait, so is this just a heavily modified Android fork or a built-from-the-ground-up completely new OS?
What language do you guys use for this OS?
Puresoul_CZ said:
Nice to hear that, is there some public git or svn?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SynchroDrive said:
Wait, so is this just a heavily modified Android fork or a built-from-the-ground-up completely new OS?
What language do you guys use for this OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a fork.
The Essential API's, SDK and Documentation are being worked on and will be released soon.
More information will be provided at that time.
UPDATE:
The ÆTHER 0.1 Krypton OS now has over 8,000 lines of written code and more importantly is it's level of quality.
Still functioning very smoothly.
We are on schedule for the release date of December 12th for the API's, Documentation and SDK.
http://i.imgur.com/95kJAnN.png
Here is the latest GIF with a few extra included apps.
Just to update the thread: Work on the APIs is still underway. Hopefully there will be something to share not too long from now.
Recent News:
http://www.cryptoarticles.com/press-releases/korecoins-ther-kripton-os-coming-to-a-korephone-near-you
Elemental121212 said:
Just to update the thread: Work on the APIs is still underway. Hopefully there will be something to share not too long from now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KOREPHONE CODER UPDATE:
The Coder putting together the app package has been experiencing rolling power outages
that's been disrupting his work the last few weeks.
He spent last few days researching and going into town to get a fairly large UPS and a 102ah Battery
giving him a considerable amount of time. Well over 6 hours backup.
The release date for the API's, SDK and Documentation is the 15th.
Soon as these are released the app coders can all get started and we can move onto hardware integration.
Though they could have it finished in next few days he's going to wire that set up for when the power goes out.
Better to have a date they could easily make.
If it's completed earlier it will be posted earlier.
Sincerely,
HD2
Release date for the essential API's, SDK and Documentation.
12-15-2014.
Essential API's and working Emulator for the Æther Kripton Mobile OS
Here is the Initial Introduction and essential API's and working Emulator. RE: the Components of the SDK.
This is undeniable evidence the Æther Kripton Mobile OS has been coded.
Detailed Explanation being compiled...
https://mega.co.nz/#!qFlRkTpQ!Yn64mclLI4LnFz7iPYowf4LoJMBjOwch-egT3ueg4i8
Details are in the included NotePad File.
HD2 crosshair said:
Here is the Initial Introduction and essential API's and working Emulator. RE: the Components of the SDK.
This is undeniable evidence the Æther Kripton Mobile OS has been coded.
Detailed Explanation being compiled...
https://mega.co.nz/#!qFlRkTpQ!Yn64mclLI4LnFz7iPYowf4LoJMBjOwch-egT3ueg4i8
Details are in the included NotePad File.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woah. It's only 220 KB?
Okay, can you show the OS running on a phone?
Truvark is a modern file encryption app for Android. You might be wondering why building another vault app as there are already a lot of options. The difference is that Truvark is built around security by design and privacy by default. To proof that I take that serious, this is an offline app, it does not have/requests Android's Internet permission. Features like cloud synchronization are not compatible with the mentioned paradigms. However, that does not mean that you cannot sync or backup your data through a third-party app (on your own risk). Read more about (unique) features below.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
FeaturesMultiple vaultsYou can create multiple vaults on your device. Any empty folder can become a vault. All your data remains on the shared device storage, means you can access the encrypted files from a file manager e.g. for backups.
This is a major difference to alternatives. Some apps don't even encrypt your files, they just move them to the app's internal storage. These often speak about "hiding data" instead of encrypting. Others using encryption still prohibit access. You fully rely on their export feature.
Deep folder structuresTruvark is not an encrypted gallery that just lets you group your pictures into albums. It is a file encryption app providing full support for creating folders inside folders. You are not limited in organizing your files.
View encrypted filesThe aim is to be able to view common file types in the app. Currently supported are images, videos and audio. The decryption takes place "on the fly" means the required data is decrypted in memory while needed. This is especially important for long videos that would not fit into memory. The image viewer supports high-res pictures and shows more details when zooming in instead of becoming pixelated.
Here are more differences to alternatives to spot. While I analyzed a wide range of vault apps from multimillion downloads to open source ones I found many flaws. Apps decrypting the full file to disk before showing it, scarify performance and possibly put that file on a risk. Others don't encrypt thumbnails, just the original files.
Privacy by defaultTo make it short this app has no Internet permission. There are no analytics, ads, telemetry or requirements for an account. However, there is an option for logging that is turned off by default. Logging is required to be able to help any user that has an issue with my app. The user needs to provide these logs, they are not automatically sent (what is technically impossible because of the missing Internet permission).
Security by designTruvark is using a component (library) for encryption that is built by Google engineers and used in Google Pay. It's called Tink and has the following promise:
A multi-language, cross-platform library that provides cryptographic APIs that are secure, easy to use correctly, and hard(er) to misuse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The last part is important. In cryptography it is enough to get a single parameter wrong to make an encryption insecure. Therefor I decided to rely on a popular open source library.
Additionally, Argon2(id) is used for key derivation. It won the Password Hashing Competition back in 2015 and is one of the best (if not the best) algorithm for that task out there.
The cryptographic core of Truvark (the combination of both libraries) is open source and available on GitHub.
The database is a Realm database. Realm can feature encrypted databases and of course that is in use. I have seen a lot of vault apps without encrypted database during my analysis.
Furthermore, Truvark supports biometric (e.g. fingerprint) authentication for unlocking a single vault. That feature is backed by the Android Keystore and might not be available on devices even though they offer biometric authentication because a strong authentication is required that not every device supports.
Partly open source, fully in futureAs mentioned above the cryptographic core is already open source and available on GitHub. You can see that this is not my first open source project. Because I'm committed to open source, I plan to publish the full source code sometime in future. The idea is to do that when the app leaves early access but all in all I will do that when I think it's ready.
About developmentOn the one hand I want to let you know that I'm a professional software developer and not coding as hobby only, on the other hand I have to put a disclaimer here that I'm not a cryptography expert. However this app was carefully build over time and not in a hastle. Although this app is in early access, it is not a prototype or minimal valuable product. Every release is going trough automated and manual tests. For the manual tests I'm using multiple devices. Nevertheless I'm not afraid to say that bugs can happen. I personally lost data using alternatives in the past, so I am very aware of that issue. Therefor this app stores many information redundant. For example in near future a corrupted or deleted database can be almost fully restored (only some information about the folder structure will be lost but you don't need to organize all files again). The app is already designed to support featues like this in future. Furthermore to backup your encrypted files all you need to do is copy the vault folder.
Upcoming features
Move files and folders to different folders
Rename folders
Rename vault
Material3, followed by many UI and UX improvements
Performance improvements
Future plans
Support more file types (like text and PDF)
Fully open source
Provide desktop clients (cross platform)
DownloadDownload from Google Play
Changelog:
0.4.0:
Target Android 13
Handle new notification permission (first and only required permission)
Support themed icons (Android 13)
Update dependencies
0.3.2:
Replace prebuild Argon2 (used for password derivation) with own build from official source
Update various dependencies (including improvements to the in-app file presenter)
0.3.1:
Fix a bug during biometric setup
Thanks for this, I noticed in recents I did not have to relog in to open, pixel as far as I understand doesn't close recents and clearing them also doesn't actually end the process losing a security risk. Great app though!
7h3DuD3 said:
Thanks for this, I noticed in recents I did not have to relog in to open, pixel as far as I understand doesn't close recents and clearing them also doesn't actually end the process losing a security risk. Great app though!
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Click to collapse
Hi,
many thanks for giving Truvark a try and for providing feedback. Indeed there is no mechanism automatically closing a vault or the app itself. Actually I spend a bunch of hours on this feature already and haven't found a solution yet that significantly improves security while keeping encryption/decryption/etc reliable.
You might have noticed that this app makes heavy use of background scheduling. Other apps show a dialog forcing you to wait while they encrypt one file after another, where Truvark runs encryption parallel in background and you still can view your already encrypted files. This is one of the reasons why the feature you mentioned is not available yet, closing a vault would cancel background operations that cannot be automatically started again when the vault is opened next time, because of storage permissions.
Truvark is completely build on Android's "new" storage design (that Google enforced in Android 10/11) by using the storage access framework (SAF).
Therefor I cannot grantee that automatically closing a vault will ever be available, however likely there will be at least a button to close a vault inside the app or maybe a login screen to prevent access to the UI while still having that vault open in background. Actually I’m planning bigger changes on how the vaults are opened with the goal to make it possible having multiple vaults open at the same time. During that process I will reevaluate if it is easier to implement that feature.
@7h3DuD3 did my post answered your questions or are you looking for different information? Happy to answer any question or feedback.
May I ask you in case you regularly use a vault/encryption app what app you're using? What you like about it and what could be improved in your opinion?
Furthermore, I might be able to give insights about the security and privacy of alternative apps if they were part of my analysis. Hoping to analyze more vault apps soon, possibly on request.
Actually don't use one ever for more than a few days, however I've been using this for a bit and find it adequate. Perhaps a triggered deletion of the vault, say recieve an email or text, but I'm fairly certain tasker could do that or multiple other apps not to mention the security risk of having something like that poses a security risk in itself. But overall I'd say it's better then what I've used in the past and files I carry on my personal thumbdrive are vaulted which feels better knowing should I lose it my personal information won't just be in a .hiddenpasswords.txt file lol that's been the main thing is bs where they hide the file like no one's gonna see that or rename the extension with no encryption. I haven't tried a brute force, might be kinda fun to do. Suggestion, Better variety of file types *
7h3DuD3 said:
I haven't tried a brute force, might be kinda fun to do.
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Click to collapse
Starting with your last sentence, I wish you good luck with that. Of course it depends on your password. Assuming you picked a good password (Truvark requires 8 character at the moment) brute force is by far the worst attack you could try. For hashing Argon2id is used with a configuration above the minimal recommendations by OWASP and for encryption Google's Tink library is used that "has been deployed in hundreds of products and systems" (quote from their readme file) including Google Pay.
I think you should try attacking the implementation instead of globaly used algorithms.
7h3DuD3 said:
Actually don't use one ever for more than a few days, however I've been using this for a bit and find it adequate. Perhaps a triggered deletion of the vault, say recieve an email or text, but I'm fairly certain tasker could do that or multiple other apps not to mention the security risk of having something like that poses a security risk in itself. But overall I'd say it's better then what I've used in the past and files I carry on my personal thumbdrive are vaulted which feels better knowing should I lose it my personal information won't just be in a .hiddenpasswords.txt file lol that's been the main thing is bs where they hide the file like no one's gonna see that or rename the extension with no encryption. I haven't tried a brute force, might be kinda fun to do. Suggestion, Better variety of file types *
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks that you overall seem to like my app. I don't plan to implement a remote deletion because I believe that strong cryptography does not need that. If you really want to build that yourself in a first step you could just delete the file with the name "vault". It contains a so called salt and the encrypted database key, without the file the attack surface is reduced (and you lose access to your files even with correct password btw).
Because you mentioned a thumb drive, that is one of the benefits of the new storage APIs. Truvark fully supports sdcards and external USB devices without workarounds or the need to move data manually from time to time. I have seen lots of vault apps with bad sdcard support.
What file support are you looking for? I plan GIFs, basic text files and PDFs next.
0.3.2:
Replace prebuild Argon2 (used for password derivation) with own build from official source
Update various dependencies (including improvements to the in-app file presenter)
Development is currently a little slow or let's say less visible to users because of many under the hood changes. Furthermore, I'm waiting for improvements/new features in some dependencies. Next will be various improvements to the database. After that I plan to work on Material3 design.
0.4.0:
Target Android 13
Handle new notification permission (first and only required permission)
Support themed icons (Android 13)
Update dependencies
Was quiet in the last months, also because I had little time, the development will progress much faster in the next weeks. I am still working on the replacement of the database implementation. Afterwards it goes on with the Material3 redesign that will come with many new features.
0.5.0:
Fix lags affecting the in-app file viewer
Loop video/audio playback
Update various dependencies
Drop a dependency in favor of official implementation
Obviously, my plans (see above) didn't work out. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for a final feature for database migration, which is finally in development upstream. So here is another small update.
I commit to continue improving this app and bring it out of early access status, as well as go fully open source in future.