Is Jailbreaking Your iPhone Safe?

No, jailbreaking your iPhone is not safe and can result in your personal information being stolen, your phone becoming infected with malware and your software malfunctioning. When you jailbreak your iPhone, you increase the number of security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to access your private information.

Continue reading to learn what jailbreaking is and why you should never jailbreak your iPhone.

What is jailbreaking?

Jailbreaking your iPhone removes the constraints of its default operating system, iOS. By removing software restrictions set by Apple, you risk your iPhone becoming vulnerable to security flaws and malware infections that could steal your private data. Since Apple implements many software restrictions to protect your iPhone from third-party sources and potential cyber threats, jailbreaking your iPhone can make your device much less safe to use, as you won’t be able to download the latest software with relevant security updates.

Why do people jailbreak their phones?

There are many reasons why people may want to jailbreak your iPhone, ranging from cosmetic enhancements to the ability to use different software. Since Apple’s App Store generally only allows you to download safe apps, jailbreaking your iPhone gives you more leeway to install apps from third-party sources. Unauthorized apps, games, programs and software could contain malware, which may infect your device and send your private information to the cybercriminal who created the third-party content.

6 reasons why you should never jailbreak your iPhone

Regardless of why you may want to do it, you should never jailbreak your iPhone in order to preserve your device’s performance, keep up with security updates and protect your phone’s content from being stolen or erased. 

Here are six reasons why you shouldn’t jailbreak your iPhone.

1. Your phone won’t automatically update

If you choose to jailbreak your iPhone, you will be unable to receive new iOS updates that feature important security enhancements, bug fixes and new tools that help your phone run smoothly. Without these updated safety features, your iPhone will be more susceptible to viruses and malware being installed onto your phone without your knowledge. Because your iPhone will lack the most recent updates from Apple, you will be left to depend on the jailbreaking community’s ability to find an appropriate patch to replace whatever the software update would have provided.

2. You become vulnerable to security threats

Sometimes, the jailbreaking community may be unable to find a solution that meets your iPhone’s security needs, leaving your phone unprotected and vulnerable to cyber threats. Since you can no longer install automatic security updates using iOS, your phone will be more susceptible to various security threats, including malware, spyware and other viruses. Spyware is a type of malware that allows cybercriminals to spy on you and gather your private information, such as your login credentials or credit card numbers. If you think it is unlikely that your phone could be hacked or have malware installed on it without your knowledge, remember the massive cyber attack in 2015 where malware infected over 225,000 jailbroken Apple devices and stole private data. Because none of these Apple devices were protected by iOS security features, many of the victims had their personal information stolen and used to lock them out of their accounts.

3. Your phone battery will drain faster

Jailbreaking your iPhone may cause your battery to drain much faster than normal because third-party apps can use more energy to run than apps from the App Store. This is especially true if an unauthorized app secretly contains malware that infects your iPhone since malware can significantly shorten your iPhone’s battery life. Most apps that are not authorized by the App Store will drain your battery, making your iPhone perform poorly compared to when you were using iOS.

4. You may lose access to certain content and services

Without using Apple’s official software, your jailbroken iPhone may no longer display certain built-in Apple features. Some of the content and services you may lose by jailbreaking your iPhone include iCloud, FaceTime, iMessage, Weather and Apple Pay. Apple has even reported that these apps, among others, have difficulty synchronizing your data after jailbreaking your iPhone. So, if you want your information to be transferable across your multiple Apple devices, it is not recommended to jailbreak your iPhone. 

5. Your phone may crash and experience slower performance

A jailbroken phone will have a slower performance speed than a non-jailbroken phone, even if you aren’t using any energy-intensive apps. Your iPhone will crash regularly when you download and use third-party apps because they use more energy to run and haven’t been tested as extensively as apps in the App Store. Without Apple’s iOS privacy settings on downloadable apps, a jailbroken iPhone will have access to various parts of your phone, which will increase its data usage, the chances that your phone will crash and the likelihood your data falls in the wrong hands.

6. You may lose your manufacturer’s warranty

Because Apple does not support jailbreaking, you could lose the warranty on your iPhone. Not only does jailbreaking your iPhone cause security vulnerabilities and weaken battery life, but you could also be completely unable to use your iPhone after jailbreaking it. If you realize that your jailbroken iPhone is too damaged to use, Apple can refuse to repair it because jailbreaking voids your warranty. Once you modify your iPhone to remove Apple’s official iOS and alter its function beyond Apple’s approval, they may not be able to restore it to its original settings.

Is jailbreaking legal?

Despite how harmful jailbreaking can be, it is still legal for the most part. For some devices, it is illegal to jailbreak them, but jailbreaking phones has been legal in the U.S. since 2010, based on an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Phones, tablets and smartwatches are allowed to be jailbroken because the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argued that programmers should be allowed to jailbreak devices to test independent software. However, Congress reviews this act every three years to expand the list of devices allowed to be jailbroken.

Although jailbreaking is legal for the most part, using jailbroken devices to install pirated content or infringe upon copyright laws is illegal. For example, if you download and play a pirated game on your jailbroken iPhone, you could face up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for that misdemeanor.

Steer clear from jailbreaking your phone

To protect your Apple devices from malware infections and security vulnerabilities, avoid jailbreaking your iPhone. Although jailbreaking gives you more freedom to personalize your mobile experience, there are more downsides than upsides, which could harm not only your physical device but also jeopardize your private information.