Is Jailbreaking Legal?

In July 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that jailbreaking an iPhone is legal. This came after years of debate as to whether jailbreaking is lawful. Apple has always maintained that jailbreaking is illegal, but the company never took action against the tens of thousands of iPhone owners who jailbroke their iPhones and subscribed to underground app stores like Cydia. Several months ago, the Electronic Frontier foundation asked the U.S. Copyright Office to add jailbreaking to the few distinct exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provisions.

For Apple, this ruling is primarily bad news. For years prior to this decision, Apple enjoyed an extremely closed business model wherein iPhone users could only purchase apps from Apple. Many iPhone users feel that jailbreaking gives them the flexibility they want in a smartphone and that Apple was being unfair by trying to outlaw it.

Apple, however, has a different take. The company reminds consumers that the iPhone is the only smartphone that is virtually immune to viruses. Apple says that by allowing jailbreaking, authorities are also opening the door for hackers to create malware for the iPhone. In all the years since its inception, the iPhone has not needed any anti-virus software. However, Apple now suspects that the iPhone will need anti-virus software in the near future due to the legalization of jailbreaking.

Now that you know that jailbreaking is legal, you face the question of whether you should jailbreak your phone. Viruses for the iPhone are certainly a possibility in the near future, but they are not mainstream yet. Here's what you need to know about jailbreaking your iPhone to make an informed decision:

What Exactly is Jailbreaking?

Jailbreaking is simply removing the limitations on any Apple product – such as the iPhone, iPod, iPad and AppleTV. This is accomplished through custom kernels, which give users root access to the iOS. The most frequently jailbroken Apple device is the iPhone, and most people jailbreak it to gain the ability to download apps that are not made by Apple.

How to Jailbreak a Device

There are several online guides that give users detailed instructions on how to jailbreak an Apple device. You will most likely use one of several free software applications to assist in the jailbreaking process. The process is not all that complex, but if you're not tech savvy, you may have difficulty completing it.

Why Jailbreak a Device?

People choose to jailbreak their Apple devices for many reasons. Some people simply like to have full control of their iPhones or other iOS devices. Some very tech-savvy individuals know that the core of the iOS is UNIX based. If you know how to work with UNIX systems, you can install highly sophisticated software on your iPhone, such as Apache Web Server, HTTP server and even SSH Daemon, which allow you to remotely transfer any file to or from your iPhone.

However, most people will want to break into their iPhones simply for the apps. By unlocking your iPhone, you can download and use any app made by other smartphone manufacturers through underground stores such as Cydia and Installer. By doing this, you are not limited to using only apps made by Apple. While the Apple App Store has thousands of great apps, other companies also develop many useful and interesting apps for smartphones.

Lastly, some iPhone users unlock their iPhones so that they can better customize them. You can change the look and feel of jailbroken iPhones relatively easily, which is part of the appeal of performing a jailbreak on an Apple device.

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