14 DAY TRIAL // The jailbreaking community has been pretty much dormant lately, as most of the methods that were discovered to unlock iPhones either remained private or were only briefly teased by researchers.
But for some reason, the Cupertino-based company decided to update a support page to advise against jailbreaking, emphasizing the side-effects that such unauthorized modifications of the operating system could have on the performance of an iPhone.
Apple goes through the main issues that can be experienced after jailbreaking an iPhone, like security vulnerabilities, instability, shortened battery life, unreliable voice and data, disruption of services, and inability to install future updates.
Eventually, the company emphasizes that warranty is lost when jailbreaking an iPhone, which means that support and repairs should they be needed would no longer be provided.
“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,” the firm says.
Security impact
The first and the most important setback in Apple’s list is the impact on security, which the company claims opens the device to hackers and malicious actors.
“Jailbreaking your device eliminates security layers designed to protect your personal information and your iOS device. With this security removed from your iOS device, hackers may steal your personal information, damage your device, attack your network, or introduce malware, spyware, or viruses,” Apple explains.
Cupertino is struggling to make iPhones more secure after news of a hacking device made the rounds several times in the last few months, and a new security feature to block such systems in iOS 12 has reportedly already been bypassed.
Unsurprisingly, Apple says nothing about the benefits of jailbreaking an iPhone, but this makes perfect sense given that the purpose of this support page is to encourage customers to stay away from such unlocking methods.