> It's less straightforward to backdoor the OS/sdk because it's open source and built by various vendors. Not for devices running Google Play Services. If your

> It's less straightforward to backdoor the OS/sdk because it's open source and built by various vendors. Not for devices running Google Play Services. If your device is running AOSP with absolutely zero Google services then maybe that's the case (although I'm not even sure that's true at the firmware/driver level), but if you'll never use the Play Store then Play Store restrictions don't really affect you in the first place. I also think you're seriously underestimating or misunderstanding the potential attack vectors here. You don't need to deliver a blatantly obvious backdoor that can be easily found in the AOSP source code. Consider the history of 0-day RCE exploits on the Android platform and then consider the fact that such exploits can be subtly introduced in a non-obvious way that gives you plausible deniability if discovered. Now consider that you have your own closed-source and privileged code running on billions of Android devices that could take advantage of the 0-days you introduced yourself.