Why is jailbreaking good

Freelance Technology Reporter. Rich Scherr. Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. Our Fact-Checking Process.

Twitter LinkedIn. Article fact-checked on Mar 04, Tweet Share Email. Jailbreaking your iPhone allows you to make additional customizations, like premade themes, but it also opens you up to other risks.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Tell us why! More from Lifewire. Pros and Cons of Jailbreaking Your iPad. Apple strongly cautions against installing any software that hacks iOS. It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of iOS is a violation of the iOS end-user software license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software.

People jailbreak their iPhones to get access to such otherwise unavailable apps. Many apps require paid membership to view videos, download songs, or access advanced features. To gain these privileges without forking over money, some people choose to use pirated illegal versions of these apps.

Hence, some people jailbreak iPhones to install the pirated versions of the apps. The enterprise program allows organizations to install enterprise certificates, which enables them to develop and distribute apps for internal usage. Be sure to check the legal consequences of using a pirated app and software in your state because piracy falls under The U. Copyright Act. However, some users jailbreak iPhones to activate their mobile hotspots to avoid paying those extra fees.

For example, when you click any link, it opens up in the Safari web-browser only. But when you jailbreak an iPhone, you can change all such default settings and customize your phone with the features you want.

The short answer is NO! Jailbreaking an iPhone is highly risky to the security of your device and data. Example: A malware named KeyRaider stole , valid Apple accounts and thousands of certificates, private keys, and purchasing receipts from the jailbroken iPhones. When you allow those apps to access your email client or social media profiles, the app developer can send posts from your social media profiles or send phishing emails to your contacts.

Hackers might also access apps such as banking, ecommerce, bill payments, etc. The jailbreaking software has already removed the security layer of your phone, so hackers can insert different types of malware viruses, worms, trojan horses, rootkits, etc. Malware can intercept, encrypt, delete, and transfer your data. Many Free Apps Include Adware : Some app developers offer free apps and make money through advertisements.

So many times, users are bombarded with tons of advertisements while they are accessing free stuff or pirated apps. Often, hackers piggyback on such apps to hide malware in their advertisements. This is known as malvertising. Apple generally blocks the apps that are known for containing adware showing unwanted popups or malvertisements. There are three phases involved in jailbreaking an iPhone. When you download alternative app stores, they ask your permission to download the enterprise certificates on your iPhone.

The important question is, why Apple has banned or rejected those apps on the first place? Is your work email synced to it? Any malicious activity not only puts your data at risk — but your organization's as well. Because jailbroken phones lack sufficient security, you are putting your organization at greater risk of a cyber-attack.

Organizations that provide mobile devices to employees typically have security measures in place to prevent users from putting company data at risk.

This may include further locking down phones so only certain features can be added or changed, keeping devices and apps up to date, and installing a mobile device agent that can detect a jailbroken phone. Apple aims to provide users with a unified look and feel. For users who find that restrictive and want to customize their phone by adding their own icons, wallpapers, and menus, jailbreaking is the way to do that. You become the administrator of your device with all the relevant rights, rather than Apple or anyone else.

For example, you can add extra icons to your iPhone home screen or install your own screensavers. Jailbreaking also gives greater access to the file system and even unlocks communication from another device, which means you can connect your iPad to your PC and have greater control over what you can see and do.

Apple bans various apps from its App Store due to security reasons. Jailbreaking enables you to install apps that are not available from the App Store. Cydia is the most popular storefront for jailbroken phones, allowing you to add unauthorized apps, such as games and networking tools. Retro gaming emulators are also good examples: Apple bans these from its own app store because they allow you to play older computer games without buying the original copies.

However, they are freely available on Cydia. These apps take up memory space, which is inconvenient for people who do not use them. Jailbreaking allows you to remove Apple's default apps and use third-party apps instead. Some users believe jailbreaking gives them access to better anti-theft features. For example, the iPhone has a Find My iPhone feature, but this does not work when the phone is on airplane mode, turned off, or offline.

When a thief enters the wrong passcode, the front-facing camera takes a photo of the perpetrator and emails it to the owner.

You will no longer receive automatic updates direct from Apple. For each new version of iOS, you will need to wait for the jailbreaking community's appropriate hack. The process of jailbreaking after major updates may be more trouble than jailbreaking is worth.

Some unauthorized modifications have left iPhones permanently inoperable when Apple-supplied iOS updates are installed. Apple states that unauthorized modification of iOS is a violation of the iOS end-user software license agreement. Because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software. So, if your device is damaged or malfunctions after jailbreaking, Apple can refuse any service repairs you request.

The hacked software could cause an accelerated battery drain that shortens the operation of an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch on a single battery charge. A bricked phone does not boot, respond to input, or make calls — therefore is as useful as a brick. Jailbreaking in itself does not brick the phone, but the process exposes the phone to risks, which may lead to this. The motivation for jailbreaking a phone is often to access more content, but this can sometimes be counterproductive as the user can lose access to other services in the process, such as iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, Apple Pay, Weather, and Stocks.

Third-party apps that use the Apple Push Notification Service have had difficulty receiving notifications or received notifications that were intended for a different hacked device. Other push-based services such as iCloud and Exchange have experienced problems synchronizing data with their respective servers. There have been reports of third-party providers blocking jailbroken devices. A jailbroken iPhone or iPad could be more likely to crash.

Because apps available for jailbroken devices access features and APIs not available for Apple-approved apps, these features may not be tested as well. They may lead to frequent and unexpected crashes of the device, crashes, as well as freezes of built-in apps and third-party apps, and loss of data.

Jailbreaking could lead to dropped calls, slow or unreliable data connections, and delayed or inaccurate location data. A notorious jailbreak hacking incident occurred when hackers gained access to iCloud login information of , individuals who attempted jailbreak.

The hack was facilitated by security vulnerabilities created by jailbreaking, which helped hackers infiltrate users' devices. The closed nature of iOS is designed to be one of the most secure mobile operating systems to protect both your personal information and the system itself. Jailbreaking your phone increases a hackers' risk of stealing your personal information, damaging your device, attacking your network, or introducing malware, spyware , or viruses.

There are security risks to jailbreaking your phone. While jailbreaking gives you more control over your device, it also gives all the apps that run on it more control. The biggest security threats come from allowing these applications to request root access on the device. If malware is installed on the device, it can escalate and gain root access — giving complete access to all data on the device.

Jailbroken phones are much more susceptible to viruses and malware because users can avoid Apple application vetting processes that help ensure users download virus-free apps.

Jailbreaking enables software piracy, so apps and games can be distributed for free. This means you are placing your trust in the developers of all the apps you install rather than Apple. Data from banking apps, stored passwords, and data from social media accounts could be at risk if this information becomes accessible from a jailbroken iPhone.

As mentioned above, this risk became apparent when an iOS jailbreak malware called KeyRaider stole , Apple IDs and thousands of certificates, private keys, and purchasing receipts.