No need to root, with android in developer mode, run this to forward localhost:3000 to the same port on the phone.

> adb reverse tcp:3000 tcp:3000

I think it's not unreasonable for a techie to be the admin of their own phone. (I still don't get how this is an unpopular opinion.)

As I get older and get other responsibilities, I want to be admin of fewer and fewer things. Same reason I replaced my Linux fileserver with a Synology. I'll let someone else stay on top of the security issue du jour.

I also think it’s not unreasonable to not want to have root access to your phone.

If you have a OnePlus (which come more or less rooted) or a Samsung (Which has a lot of community support), you can probably root it pretty easily. But a lot of other phones lack the manufacturer's blessing or the community's support, leaving you SOL unless you can find an exploit yourself.

Also... iphone?

> (I still don't get how this is an unpopular opinion.)

Not unpopular, just unrealistic. You can't do it on an iPhone, and if you're doing local web development you really ought to be checking it on an iPhone.

If you're doing local web development, then running the iOS simulator will give you the necessary Safari iOS Web view controls.

It won't get you the necessary touch interactions if you're doing something that uses them, though.

Broadly speaking, you want to test on the actual device your users are using, not an approximation of one.

Probably possible with a local VPN on android? I believe those can do anything they please.