What is root, and why does Cheat Droid need it?

Root access gives your Android phone administrator rights, including the ability to read and edit protected system and app files. Cheat Droid needs those rights to do its job, so a rooted device is required. Put simply: no root, no Android cheats.

Why does Cheat Droid need root?

Cheat Droid is essentially a more capable file manager. It finds, lists and categorises the files that belong to a specific app, then lets you edit them.

The catch is that these files are protected by Android’s permission system. They usually live under the path /data/data/[app.package.name], and only apps with root (admin) privileges can open and modify them. Without root, those files are off-limits – which is exactly why you need a rooted phone.

What can you do once you have root?

With root access, Cheat Droid gives you dedicated editors for Shared Preferences and SQLite databases. You can also:

• Create and restore backups of an app’s data before you experiment.
• Open files in third-party editors for more advanced changes.
• Follow our step-by-step game hacking guide to edit coins, gems and scores.

New to rooting? Read how to root your Android phone next.