Keeping track of companies that "care about your data 🥺"
mirrors
Over the past few years, a suspicious number of companies have started to "take care of your data", aka block/strictly limit your ability to unlock the bootloader on your own devices.
While this may not affect you directly, it sets a bad precedent. You never know what will get the axe next: Shizuku? ADB?
They've already gone after sideloading.
I thought it might be a good idea to keep track of bad companies and workarounds.
If you know of specific details/unlocking methods, please PR them or drop them in the discussions.
Caution
Reminder that no matter how nice a company is,
you should not trust them unless their unlock process is 100% offline!
The following manufacturers have made it completely impossible to unlock their devices without a workaround.
Note
Phone brands handle carrier locks differently, so check your device manual or contact support.
Carrier-locked devices are the ones you get after making a commitment with a carrier of your choice. This is quite common in North America and (supposedly) allows you to save some money on your device.
As a rule, almost all carrier-locked devices do not allow the bootloader to be unlocked. This usually makes sense, as it would allow you to completely bypass the contract. The problem is that many devices still do not allow you to unlock the bootloader even after the carrier lock has been lifted. For more details, see the