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Download, hack and reload the APK file on Google Play. Is it possible?

I developed my first Android app on Unity3D and uploaded it to Google Play. And I just realized: there are services for downloading apk files from Google Play. There are services for unpacking apk files and getting all source files from it. Is it possible?

How can a developer protect their applications from cloning in this way? (I use Unity 3d, so I can’t use ProGuard) Or does it matter what I develop in Unity 3d? (It may be more difficult to understand the unpacked sources if this is done in Unity). But then, how does Google Play protect apps from cracking source code?

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This is possible for the most part. Just grab the APK, rename it to .zip, and you already have access to the content. Browsing through folders will show you (assuming you are using Unity) many Unity asset files. They, with the help of validation, are trivial enough to extract content from.

Trace the folder structure until you find Assembly-CSharp.dll and extract it. Drop it on something like ILSpy, and you will find that your sources are not just trivial to decompile, but that almost all names are saved and not even messed up in any way.

To provide you an example, this is part of my code

and this is what I got just now using ILSpy from the APK we created

Minor differences, but nothing that really confuses you.

In general, there is not much protection by default. There are ways to apply obfuscation, but I have no experience there, so I can not comment on the practical utility.

The bottom line is that if someone really wants to make an effort to extract what you have created, they can to some extent. Therefore, if you want to protect your work, you will have to find a solution somewhere else.

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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/983041/

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