When the Huawei Mate 30 series was unveiled, its China-based maker had made clear that the handsets no longer enjoy official access to Android. No thanks to the trade dispute between the U.S. and China, Huawei has been prevented from using Google Play Services, which is essential for the Mate 30 devices to get Android.
However, there was a backdoor entry for Google apps to find their way on the Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro. It's called the LZPlay app and unsurprisingly is sourced from China. LZPlay's function is straightforward - users need only to install it on any of the Mate 30 models, and they can start using the Google Play Services, the Play Store, and all the signature Google mobile apps.
How LZPlay behave, though is no work of magic. It is powerful because it requires elevated permission to facilitate the use of Android apps and services. Users might be curios to ask: How is this possible? That's because the third-party when already installed on a device acts with Admin privileges, and needless to say, it is alarming.
LZPlay having its way on a device is outright dangerous, according to WCCFTech, adding that it's not even smart to grant Admin access to Google-vetted applications and more so for third-party apps that are beyond the company's scrutiny.
In the same way, with LZPlay on the Huawei Mate 30, the device will be essentially exposed and lacking the usual security protocol found on Android-certified handsets. Per the same report, LZPlay is the key for Huawei to poke around on devices, and users will have no clue of the security breach.
"No company should have the power to modify its user's devices on a whim, especially one like Huawei that has been accused of engaging in shady behavior in the past," the report added.
Now it's a good thing that when the ugly possibilities surrounding the LZPlay were made known, steps have been taken to correct the problem. As of writing, 9to5Google reported that LZPlay.net was rendered inaccessible.
It is the same site where the LZPlay app can be downloaded, meaning the APK can no longer be used. Also, the same report indicated that previously obtained and installed APKs of the app no longer work.
To further prove that Android by way of LZPlay is not exactly secured, 9to5Google also pointed to reports that Mate 30s aided by the third-party app to get and use Google mobile apps no longer pass the series of tests from SafetyNet.
For reference, SafetyNet is a Google tool that validates a handset's system security and integrity. Failing its tests would mean there is a big problem, and in this case the problem resides on all Huawei Mate 30 models that opted for the LZPlay solution.
So Android, for now, is not an option for Huawei Mate 30 users, and they can only enjoy the treat again if the official blessing from Google is given anew. That happening will depend on how the U.S. and China settle their differences, meaning it could take some time.
