How To Bring Back App Ops To Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Recently, Google started rolling out the Android 4.4.2 update to Nexus and Google Play Edition devices, and along with fixing a few issues with KitKat, this update seems to have altogether removed the hidden App Ops feature introduced in Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. For those unfamiliar, App Ops was basically a settings activity that wasn’t directly accessible via the stock Settings app but could be brought up using other methods and third-party apps, and it allowed users to change permissions of all the installed apps individually, enabling them to grant them some permissions while deny them others. Despite Google’s reasons that it was an experimental feature without any aim for release due to issues caused when apps lose certain permissions that they require to function, its removal was received with a lot of criticism, as it provided power users who knew what they were doing the flexibility of choosing the permissions their apps get, while not being accessible by novices in the first place. If you have a rooted Android 4.4.2 device and want to get the feature back, App Ops for Root takes care of it for you. In addition, the app also lets you easily launch the feature on Android 4.3 till 4.4.2.
After installation, simply launch the app and hit the Install AppOps Root button. You will be prompted to provide the app Superuser access in order to install the required files to the system partition. Simply grant the permissions, and the app will take care of everything in the background. You will then be able to launch AppOps by tapping the Launch Stock AppOps button.
App Ops for Root has been developed by XDA-Developers member safet.me, and since the App Ops feature itself works only on Android 4.3 or later, the app is also meant for these versions. You can grab the app for free via the Play Store link provided below. To download its APK file for sideloading, or to keep track of its development, head over to the app’s forum thread at XDA-Developers.
Install App Ops for Root from Play Store
