Jailbreak - what is it?
Fabian Geissler has been our guest blogger from www.hack4life.org since November 2018. As a journalist, he bought and tested CELLBEE® products at an early stage. Over time we became aware of him and were able to win him over as a blogger. This blog was completely written by him and all pictures were taken by him. Thank you very much!
About the article:
The term Jailbreak comes up again and again when you surf the Internet or spend a lot of time in groups on Facebook. But what is a jailbreak and what can you do with it? With a jailbreak you remove the restrictions of iOS. For example, you can install different designs or useful extensions on your device. In order to get a jailbreak, you have to have a compatible iOS version installed, because there is not a jailbreak for every iOS version. If all requirements are met, a tool can be used to install an app on the iPhone, which is then used to carry out the actual jailbreak. If everything worked, you will find an app called Cydia on the home screen after a successful jailbreak. This package manager is like the AppStore and contains the individual extensions (also called tweaks) and themes that you can install.
Jailbreak everything for free?
You often hear statements like "with a jailbreak everything is free", but that's not true! Although you can make changes with a jailbreak that Apple would not approve, you cannot download any paid apps from the AppStore for free. There are also extensions or designs in the jailbreak store Cydia that are chargeable.
The jailbreak scene as a source of inspiration for Apple
It may sound a bit implausible at first, but Apple regularly uses the jailbreak community as a source of inspiration for innovations that will be integrated in later iOS versions. For example, in Cydia there is the tweak SwipeSelection , with which you can move the cursor by swiping across the keyboard. Apple has now integrated this functionality directly into iOS and you can use a Force Touch to move the cursor back and forth between the text. The widgets, as we know them today from the notification center of various apps, existed long before that. Even the control center could be installed by jailbreaking a tweak called SBSettings - it is now firmly integrated into iOS.
The jailbreak is almost extinct
Many assume that the jailbreak in 2018 is no longer an issue and also no longer necessary or is no longer of any use. But this is not entirely true. In order to be able to "create" a jailbreak, you need a security hole in an iOS version. These are not so easy to find these days, as the security concept of iOS is now extremely mature. Nevertheless, developers always manage to find new holes that can be used for a jailbreak. As a result, it currently takes longer and longer until a new jailbreak for a current iOS version is published, but the demand for this is still quite high. Even in German-speaking countries there is a large community that helps each other with problems and questions about the jailbreak.