Root
Root (or Superuser) is the name of a user profile with administrative rights on android devices. On most devices, an Android user is unable to gain access to this root user profile by default, and as a consequence does not have access to certain system files, -functions and -applications. The act of rooting a device involves making (software) changes to the device in order to obtain the privileges of the root user profile.
Some Apps need Superuser access to work properly. Other Apps won’t work with a rooted phone. As a work-around to make the latter group of apps function, you can hide root with RootCloak.
Be aware that root privileges come with risks, such as accidentally deleting important system files or attracting malware that nests itself deeper into the Android system.
The Fairphone 1 is a rooted device, which means that the user has more rights to tweak and personalize the appearance and functions of the phone.
FP2 is not rooted by default, but in Open OS you can simply switch root on in the dic:developeroptions. There is also an instruction on how to root FP OS.
From FP3 onwards all Fairphones are not rooted by default and can be rooted using Magisk.