Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange
Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [drm]

DRM (Digital Rights Management) are access control technologies that limit the usage of digital content and devices

What is DRM?

DRM (Digital Rights Management) are access control technologies that limit the usage of digital content and devices (hence it is also called digital restrictions management). Those in favour of it claim it is required to fight copyright infringement. Opponents complain it limits the righful "buyer" in using the bought goods, as one e.g. can not easily read a DRM'd book obtained with Amazon's Kindle on a different device, using a reader application of own choice. Another issue is that works can become permanently inaccessible if the DRM scheme changes or if the service is discontinued (OpenSource.Com).

What does Android have to do with that?

A justified question, considering Android claims to be Open Source. But that does not apply to all components (e.g. some hardware drivers) and apps. Especially several audio and video apps (such as Google Play Music or Google Play Movies & TV, but also Google Play Books make use of DRM. As do many of the shop-bound , like Amazon's , Barnes & Noble's , and many others.

Sources / Further readings

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How does Google Play's "Market license check" work?

About a month ago I bought a game called Whale Trail during a sale on Google Play. Today, when I tried to play the game on the subway, it asked to verify the game's license, and failing to do so (since there was no internet connection on the…
Yi Jiang
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How does the Amazon Appstore verify its apps?

A few times after I've downloaded an app from the Amazon Appstore, I get an error pop-up similar to the following when opening the app: Amazon Appstore There was a problem verifying this application. Please download it again. It hasn't occured on…
Matthew Read
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How does Android Market DRM work?

I have a bunch of rooted tablets purchased for use on a locked-down WiFi network (for security reasons internet access is not allowed). Using a different network, I purchased an RDP client app from the market. After a while on the secured network…
Michael
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Are Google Books DRM protected?

In some countries Google Play offers ebooks. I was wondering if those are DRM protected. Can I export them as e.g. epub? Or are they bound to be read within the Google Play Books application?
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How to allow Android Market License Check through a secured network?

We have a secure network that doesn't allow internet access. Unfortunately one app from the Android Market we purchased for our honeycomb tablets uses Market License Check to verify that we've purchased the app on, what it seems like, a daily basis.…
Michael
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Can I play DRM music from iTunes on my Android?

I thought that DRM content on iTunes could only be played on iTunes, but then I saw SongBird, a non-Apple application that can play DRM protected music. Is there an app for that uses similar technology that can play my old iTunes purchases? Is there…
Brendan
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How to determine if an android application uses Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and Secure Element (SE)?

I have gone through questions One and Two. But still I have an additional question. How do we find out that an android application uses Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and Secure Element (SE). Particularly a hardware backed environment. Thanks
nishad kamdar
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Is there any way to listen to Zune Pass music on my phone?

I have a Zune and download DRM-ed music via the Zune Marketplace that I can listen to as long as I have a Zune Pass monthly subscription. Is there any way to listen to this music on my Droid?
Matt Casto
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Is there a way to verify the integrity of a TA partition backup of Xperia phones?

I unlocked the bootloader of my Xperia P (LT22i) before I could take a backup of the TA partition (which stores DRM keys, IMEI code, etc.) Now I've read on several XDA threads and other websites that TA can not be backed up after the bootloader has…
Vinayak
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How to find out if an android device is using TEE?

I am new to Trusty TEE OS. Is there any way to find out if an Android Device uses such an OS without rooting the device ? AFAIK there, DRM (Digital Rights Management) is the most widely used application of Trusty OS. Some examples for DRM frameworks…
nishad kamdar
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Password protected video

I want to protect my instructional video with a password. There is a use case. When a user wants to play an encrypted file (update: file located on user's android device), the encrypted file will pop up a dialog box to request the user to enter a…
Loom
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What exactly are DRM keys?

I was thinking of unlocking my ST17i's bootloader but I saw on the Sony Mobile website that unlocking the bootloader will result to the deletion of DRM keys from my phone. What exactly are they? And what will be affected if I lose the said "DRM…
Propeller
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Android versions without DRM?

Since smartphones have become "the thing", it has somehow been decided that locking your phone to a particular primary e-mail address and having DRM is "okay". Android, despite being open-source, is somehow not the exception. Since Android IS…
user15766
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Removing DRM from Android using root

I would like to know what one would have to do to remove DRM (Digital Restrictions/"Rights" Management) completely from an Android phone that one has root access to. So far, I have thought about removing /etc/drm, /etc/dcmrcm, and…
Stallman
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Homemade update Sony Xperia to Android 6.0 Marshmallow and DRM restoration

I have a Xperia smartphone, Android 4.4. Is it possible to upgrade my device with new Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and restore previously backed up DRM keys so Sony proprietary features can work as before? Or maybe the keys are bound to specific Android…
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