Comment by tombert

I don't dispute that at all. I don't think it matters, it just needs to look like they're doing something to avoid forks and the like.

That said, there might be stuff that's actually using open source Android for profit. For example, the Nook Glowlight Plus, which runs a modded version of Android, doesn't appear to have any direct or even indirect references to Android anywhere (and I had to contribute a bit to the discourse to even get the rooting to work [1]). I have no ideas about the inner dealings of Barnes and Noble, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're running a completely forked version of FOSS Android and aren't paying a dime to Google for it.

I suspect these are the things that Google is trying to crack down on.

[1] https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=360563&pa...