Apple Music users on Android who’ve dug around and gained root access have woken up to a shock — The Apple Music app doesn’t work anymore.
AssembleDebug noticed the access restriction and posted it to X with some screenshots to show what’s happening.
Instead of their music libraries and millions of tracks to listen to, rooted users will just get an error message that reads “Only Available on Unrooted Devices Apple Music is no longer available on rooted devices”. No more tunes from the Apple Music app for you, lest ye unroot your device, or find a workaround.
#Apple Music also started detecting root with the latest beta version 4.7 , it crashes instantly if root is detected. It is only checking for su binary, so it's easy to fix with deny list in magisk. Should have used Play Integrity like Google did with RCS :p#ios #Android pic.twitter.com/37Ffa3k6iNMarch 3, 2024
Rooting? What’s that?
Remember jailbreaking? When you bypass some of the security features of an iPhone to gain access to more of the phone's software? That’s what root access does, only on an Android phone. It lets you remove apps that the manufacturer of your device has installed in the factory, change or even delete system files, and in some cases, install a different version of Android.
Rooting is not for the faint of heart — it can open you up to more security threats, for example — but it's a popular way to gain more control over how your device acts. That also means that Apple’s new Apple Music ban on rooted phones has already been broken down and worked around.
Our mates at Android Central point out that there are a couple of ways to bypass Apple’s new ban, such as MagiskHide and something called SafetyNet Fix, which hide the rooted status of your device.
But why?
Apple is just another in a lengthening line of developers 4disallowing access to certain apps and features from rooted devices. For example, Android Central also says that Google apparently has stopped rooted devices from sending RCS messages, as a way of avoiding spam.
There are a number of reasons why Apple could have done the same as Google, and restricted rooted users' access to its platform. It could be the security risks that come with rooting an Android device, or just Apple’s continued need for control over the kind of devices that its software is installed onto. It’s not clear as yet, but it could show a growing trend that might concern rooted device users.
Not us, though. We iPhone users are safe to use Apple Music.
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