Allow adb backups

[redstonekasi]

Preliminary checklist

• I have read the README
• I have read the FAQs.
• I have searched existing issues for my feature request. This is a new issue (NOT a duplicate) and is not related to another issue.
• This is a feature request for the Bromite browser; not the website nor F-Droid nor anything else.

Is your feature request related to privacy?

Yes

Is there a patch available for this feature somewhere?

No there is not.

Describe the solution you would like

I would like for android:allowBackup="false" to be specified in the Android manifest. This is need for the ability to backup Bromite's data on non-rooted devices as previously mentioned in #407, #2579 and the wiki.

I hope that this issue is not counted as a duplicate of the above mentioned ones since they have both been closed without any discussion as to why they were closed taking place.

I realize that Bromite has the ability to export bookmarks, however specifically important to me in this case is the browsing history, which is not exportable in Bromite currently.

Describe alternatives you have considered

The alternative is using root, which is not something that people should be assumed to have.

[uazo]

I would like for android:allowBackup="false" to be specified in the Android manifest.

from what I remember, it is not enough to enter that value in the manifest for the android backup to work, but you also have to add all the necessary logic, which is among other things removed from the chromium code base.
in #1500 we had approached the problem.
I think that it is not the ideal solution because it is not under the will of the user but of an external application (as well as formally unencrypted by default).
in my opinion, is better to invest the time in enabling (local) sync, that still exists in chromium

[redstonekasi]

I see, you raise a fair point. I looked into it and it seems like the BackupAgent you speak of is optional. It's needed when you want to use the older (Android 2.2) backup service and optionally used for fine-grained control over which files are backed up in the newer (Android 6.0) backup service.
Adb backup seems to behave similarly to the newer backup service, though since adb backup is deprecated and undocumented I cannot be entirely sure about that.
I suppose adb backup being deprecated probably makes proper local sync the better option.

[redstonekasi]

From the Android documentation:

To help protect private app data, Android 12 changes the default behavior of the adb backup command. For apps that target Android 12 (API level 31) or higher, when a user runs the adb backup command, app data is excluded from any other system data that is exported from the device.
If your testing or development workflows rely on app data using adb backup, you can now opt in to exporting your app's data by setting android:debuggable to true in your app's manifest file.

[paolo-caroni]

Make Bromite backupablewith adb and/or seedvault would be perfect, I like the idea.