This new ‘Lite’ PC emulator removes sketchy permissions and trackers

Controller brand GameSir launched the GameHub app early this year, allowing you to run PC games directly on your Android phone without an internet connection. There have been some privacy concerns about this app, but an enterprising developer has launched GameHub Lite to assuage these concerns.

The GameHub Lite project was recently released and the project’s GitHub page describes it as a “privacy-focused” modification of GameHub. The developer behind the project reverse-engineered GameHub to remove “all tracking, authentication, and bloat while adding an automated patcher for future updates.” In fact, the developer claimed that almost 12,000 tracking and analytics files were removed.

Other modifications include the removal of 31 “invasive” permissions (e.g., contacts, microphone), the removal of a login requirement, image size optimizations, and external launcher support. These changes all result in an app that’s gone from 114MB to 51MB, although this doesn’t take into account supplementary files like GPU drivers, translation software, and more.

The app has also received a tentative mark of approval from the EmulationOnAndroid subreddit’s moderators, who apparently decompiled the app and conducted a cursory inspection of changes. In saying so, I’d still urge you to hold off on downloading the app if you’re not sure what you’re doing or if you simply want to play it safe. Otherwise, you can visit the GitHub project to download the APK.

Of course, GameSir likely won’t be happy with this reverse-engineered project. The company offers GameHub for free, and monetizes the project via controller sales. However, I’m also guessing that user data plays a major role in its business strategy. Then again, GameSir also gained infamy when it launched the EggNS Nintendo Switch emulator, which used stolen source code.