Magisk is probably the most popular tool for rooting Android phones, which provides access to files and settings that are normally not available to end users. It also allows users to customize the way their devices look and perform. But by making it possible to modify portions of the operating system that are normally protected, it also makes devices at least a little more vulnerable to security threats.

Which is why it both makes a lot of sense, and it’s a bit strange to see that Magisk’s developer, John Wu, has been hired by Google to work on the Android Platform Security team.

On the one hand, Magisk is very much a tool that can be used to make Android devices less secure. On the other, Wu clearly needs to have deep knowledge and understanding of Android and its security systems in order to develop and continue updating Magisk.

He notes that Google is giving him “the flexibility to continue working on existing projects,” including Magisk. So the app should continue to be actively supported for the foreseeable future.

Update: It looks like that “existing projects” tweet has been deleted, so umm… maybe not? Since Magisk is open source software though, even if Wu stopped developing Magisk, other users can contribute code and/or fork the software and develop their own version.

Update 2: In a newer update, Wu says his original post was premature and details are still being worked out.

Prior to joining Google, Wu had spent time at Apple, which he joined as an intern in 2019 and an employee in 2020. He began developing Magisk several years ago and released the first version to the public in 2016.

via xda-developers

 

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4 replies on “Magisk developer John Wu now works on Google’s Android security team (will continue working on Android root app)”

  1. It looks like he’s deleted the tweet that said he could keep working on Magisk and now says that he can’t.

    1. Well that’s interesting. It might not mean he can’t work on Magisk anymore. But it seems like a conversation they probably should have had before hiring him and/or before he posted that tweet.

  2. Some typos:
    “other users can contribute code and/or fork the software and develop[er] their own version.”
    “Prior to joining Google, Wu had spent time at Apple, which he joined as an intern[et] in 2019”
    Maybe predictive typing was on?

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