Ways of using hidden Android APIs in system and vendor development
summary
Five concrete ways to reach hidden Android code: reflection for quick private field/method access; adding a merged framework+android.jar dependency and swapping Android Studio’s SDK to browse system sources; wholesale system source copy; targeted minimal copy with a wrapper module that restores unit tests return; and vendor SDKs that integrate with SDK Manager. The assistant overlay use case is solved by registering status bar callbacks (service can be nullable across vendors) and routing system UI visibility flags to hide the overlay. Beware non-SDK lists, signature/privileged checks, and SELinux enforcement.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Introduction to hidden APIs
- 1:52Using reflection for hidden APIs
- 4:20Adding special dependency
- 9:19Copying system sources
- 12:28Targeted system source copy
- 14:54Using vendor SDK
- 17:23Android security layers
- 23:49Protecting from hidden API use
- 24:53Summary and Q&A
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