celzero
Prevent Disabling App/VPN
Is it possible to prevent the ReThink app/VPN from being disabled? Maybe through the means of another helper app?
This would be a great feature for employee/kids phones.
Not possible (or not that I know of), unfortunately, other than going full Parental Controls (which is currently out-of-scope: #971).
@ignoramous Thanks for the quick reply!
Would a feature of just preventing the VPN from being disabled be possible? (I'm not asking for full parental controls - we can use other apps to lock the ReThink app...). I think it's a pretty important feature for such an app.
Would a feature of just preventing the VPN from being disabled be possible? (I'm not asking for full parental controls - we can use other apps to lock the ReThink app...). I think it's a pretty important feature for such an app.
I understand why such a feature is important, but Android provides no way of achieving this. A Parental Control app can, but that's a whole another project in itself (and even then the Android device itself would have be designated as a managed "child" device, iirc).
Someone suggested (on twitter / mirror) that Rethink can prevent itself being turned OFF by declaring itself a "Device Admin" (ref) but I am pretty sure Google wouldn't approve our app update for PlayStore as "Device Admin" APIs (ref) are specifically reserved for Enterprise Device Management.
I am reopening to track exploring using this "Device Admin" trick for at least the non-PlayStore flavours.
Thanks for reopening, and that is a good suggestion. I don't think it should be an issue with the Play Store as the Tasker app as well as many App Lock apps make use of the Device Admin feature.
Aside from preventing the app from being disabled, there is also another possible issue; when a VPN is enabled and then another VPN (from a different app) is enabled, the first VPN is turned off and is replaced with the second one. We need to prevent that from happening somehow (perhaps we can detect if the VPN is turned off and then restart it right away).
We need to prevent that from happening somehow (perhaps we can detect if the VPN is turned off and then restart it right away).
Turn ON Always-on VPN on Android 10+ (and optionally, Block connections without VPN). Rethink can't enable it on its own but a user can: Open Rethink, then go to About -> VPN Profile.
Please consider allowing us the option of adding rethink as a device administrator. YES the api has been partially depricated BUT is still fully functional to prevent a background app from being quit by a user without access to the settings.
This functionality alone would make rethink an amazing solution for so many people.
Please add the partially depricated device admin api.
It can be optional for the users. You don't need to force people to use device admin but don't you see that this solution would make your app an amazing solution for so many people .
Can't you see that.
is still fully functional to prevent a background app from being quit by a user without access to the settings.
This feature request is to folks requesting Rethink use the Device Admin APIs to prevent turning OFF Rethink (via Android's VPN Settings).