While discussing jailbreaks with developers who use tracking modules in their iPhone software, and those who create such tracking modules, I came across the accusation that jailbreaks are heavily used for installing pirated software. As one who jailbroke his iPhone on the first day he received it (yes, it's legal), I felt like defending the need to jailbreak the iPhone for useful and quite legit purposes. So here's a list of my top apps for jailbroken devices:
But whether or not jailbreaking makes piracy easier - it's the only way to defend against privacy violations done by the same tracking modules that claim to need to monitor the jailbreak status for reasons of piracy. And we're not speaking about just a few apps here - depending on the category, one third to two thirds of all software in the top 100 I tested where using some kind of tracking module without proper notification to the user. More about that in another blog post...
- PrivaCy - in fact, my number one piece of software from Cydia (the software that manages repositories of software for jailbroken devices) is a small extension that appears within the iPhones settings and allows me to block the tracking modules of Flurry, Medialets, Mobclix and Pinch Media. Actually, I try to don't even use software that uses one of these tracking modules, but if I download something on the road, I can't check the file using Spybot 2 (or FileAlyzer 2, or AlpAlyzer).
- Firewall iP - the tracking modules listed by "Privacy" are just a few, and those where the creaters of the module support opt out. There are others who phone home without my knowledge, and for these, I use this paid for firewall, another software only available to jailbroken phones. It has a small downside though - it does not protect Cydia itself.
- LockInfo - I want my appointments shown on the lock screen, without having to unlock and open the Calendar app - and LockInfo does exactly that. Again paid for and again available only on jailbroken devices.
But whether or not jailbreaking makes piracy easier - it's the only way to defend against privacy violations done by the same tracking modules that claim to need to monitor the jailbreak status for reasons of piracy. And we're not speaking about just a few apps here - depending on the category, one third to two thirds of all software in the top 100 I tested where using some kind of tracking module without proper notification to the user. More about that in another blog post...