&gt; Supposedly, with Android you are free to install software from arbitrary sources ...<p>Certainly. Go to Settings -&gt; Security and tick &quot;Unknown sources&quot; option.<p>&gt; With Android devices there is a distinction between “rooted” and “unrooted” devices, which sounds suspiciously similar to “jailbroken” and “unjailbroken”.<p>Sounds like it, sure. But as majority of top Android manufacturers have an official page [1][2][3][4][5] describing how to unlock their bootloaders so arbitrary OS can be installed, that similarity disappears.<p>&gt; With a PC, I don&#x27;t have to perform some arcane operation to actually have control of the device.<p>Ask your average PC user how to install a different OS, or even how to re-install the same OS and you&#x27;ll soon find, the process is &quot;arcane&quot; on all platforms. Also note that I found all the official links I listed, to unlocking various android phones, in 5 minutes.<p>&gt; Moreover, it seems to be common to discriminate against people who have the gall to “root” their device, or to disable some functionality of the device if such “rooting” is performed.<p>Nothing stops a PC app developer to put in checks on what ISP you&#x27;re connected to for example or whether your user has root access. I use Cyanogenmod on my phone and not one app so far has discriminated against me having root access. Point is that it&#x27;s very uncommon.<p>&gt; I believe there are even online banking applications which reserve the right, in their terms, to detect if a device is “rooted” and refuse to operate on them.<p>Yes, they are the developers and they set the terms. There are also banks whose websites simply reject a particular browser by name, not because it lacks a certain functionality.<p>[1]: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.htcdev.com&#x2F;bootloader" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.htcdev.com&#x2F;bootloader</a><p>[2]: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;developer.sonymobile.com&#x2F;unlockbootloader&#x2F;unlock-yourboot-loader&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;developer.sonymobile.com&#x2F;unlockbootloader&#x2F;unlock-your...</a><p>[3]: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;developer.lge.com&#x2F;resource&#x2F;mobile&#x2F;RetrieveBootloader.dev?categoryTypeCode=ANRS" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;developer.lge.com&#x2F;resource&#x2F;mobile&#x2F;RetrieveBootloader....</a><p>[4]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com&#x2F;app&#x2F;standalone&#x2F;bootloader&#x2F;unlock-your-device-a" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com&#x2F;app&#x2F;standalone&#x2F;b...</a>