> However, at least you have the option of installing a ROM that supports toggling adb root out of the box.
That's not valid for all devices, all Samsungs need a cooldown of one week (Knox lock, presumably to thwart people from rooting stolen devices to bypass antitheft), all modern Androids require a full wipe of the device as part of rooting so it's useless for forensics, and a shitload of apps will flat out refuse to work on rooted devices - forget many games, forget anything with streaming, forget banking apps.
It works for forensics if you already had the OS installed. The fact that the process of flashing a new OS wipes the device is a good thing (consider what the alternatives are).
Obviously I feel the user should always have had root. Switching the OS is a fix for that. Not choosing to do that is the same as the choice to purchase a locked device.
> shitload of apps will flat out refuse to work on rooted devices
People say this but so far most stuff has worked for me on lineage with microg. The adb root toggle isn't detectable as far as I know. Their only realistic option is to require SafetyNet.
At that point we've digressed from a conversation about forensics, root access, and switching the OS to one about the evils of widespread remote attestation.
I agree that centralized and ubiquitous remote attestation is evil. So disable it. Don't use services that require it. Don't use anything that requires DRM either, since that's one of the primary driving forces.
> Even with all the various hacks enabled.
Those were never going to work long term. Hardware based remote attestation can't realistically be bypassed by the end user.
That's not valid for all devices, all Samsungs need a cooldown of one week (Knox lock, presumably to thwart people from rooting stolen devices to bypass antitheft), all modern Androids require a full wipe of the device as part of rooting so it's useless for forensics, and a shitload of apps will flat out refuse to work on rooted devices - forget many games, forget anything with streaming, forget banking apps.