this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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Explain Like I'm Five

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I remember back in the day when people would "Jailbreak" iPhones, but never really picked up on what they were doing other than that it let them do stuff that those of us with "non-jailbroken" iPhones couldn't do.

Are they just booting another OS, e.g. android? Also: why haven't I heard of it in a while? Is it not possible on newer iPhones?

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (19 children)

It meant getting root access to the device, which means you can do anything you want. People would get apps for free, install ones that aren't on the app store and customize their home screen in ways that Apple doesn't allow (like placing apps where you want). It's still IOS, just with the ability to screw around under the hood.

For Android, rooting is pretty much the same thing and it's still common.

[–] thebestaquaman 12 points 1 year ago (18 children)

Ahh, that makes sense. How did you go about doing that? It's not like you have a terminal to mess around in on an iPhone? Is the reason I haven't heard of it in a while that it's harder/impossible in newer iPhones?

Also: Why would apple prevent you from having root access? The way I see it, when I buy a phone, just like a pc, I should be allowed to do what I want with it.

[–] gkeep 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You rely on security exploits that grant access to low level stuff, which then allows for jailbreak. As security vulnerabilities get more and more discovered and fixed there’s just less opportunities to have root access.

Why would Apple prevent this Capitalism, that’s why. It’s their way or no way.

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