Shelter on Android: What does an isolated profile actually see?

The author investigates the effectiveness of using the Shelter app to isolate Russian applications in a separate Android profile to bypass VPN detection. While this scheme initially worked to prevent banking and social apps from detecting VPN usage, issues began to arise in the fall. Through six experimental scenarios using diagnostic tools like RKNHardering, the author analyzed what system and network data is accessible to apps within an isolated profile. The findings were unexpected, revealing that isolation does not always guarantee complete privacy, as app-side VPN detection mechanisms have become more sophisticated. The author concludes that privacy protection methods require a deeper understanding of Android architecture, as applications can still access system identifiers and network configurations even within the Shelter sandbox.