Last week, reports began to circulate that the Nexus S had been rooted.  Concerns about Android’s (lack of) security ensued.  Android fans shouldn’t worry, however, as this appears to be an authentic "it’s a feature, not a bug" situation.

Non-news along these lines may be a little anticlimactic, but Google has been pretty firm on the matter.  The company explained its stance last week and hasn’t tried to go back on that position since.

Nick Kralevich, an engineer on the Android Security Team, pointed out on the Android Developers Blog, "The Nexus S, like the Nexus One before it, is designed to allow enthusiasts to install custom operating systems.  Allowing your own boot image on a pure Nexus S is as simple as running fastboot oem unlock.  It should be no surprise that modifying the operating system can give you root access to your phone."

Then, to drive the point home that no fixes are necessary, Kralevich continued, "Hopefully that’s just the beginning of the changes you might make."

Developers and creative types should feel free to have fun with their Nexus S phones as a result, without worrying that Google will outlaw or brick anything in response.

Self-proclaimed hackers, on the other hand, may want to proceed with a little more humility when dealing with Google in the future.