The process used to open the software of an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to allow the user greater access to the device to install non-Apple-approved software.
Typically, Apple tightly controls its iOS-based products. This control extends to preventing users from installing software on the devices that didn't come from Apple's App Store. Apple’s rationale for this is that preventing these changes ensures that the device operate smoothly, with fewer errors, and provide a high-quality experience.
The opposing view is that Apple is denying users the freedom to use their belongings the way they’d like and trying to control what gets installed on the devices.
While the upside of jailbreaking is more control over what is installed on a device, and that it sometimes allows users to do things Apple doesn’t approved of (such as, before the feature was available in iTunes, create ringtones), it can also cause problems, including data corruption and allowing access to malicious code.
Apple does not support devices that have been damaged due to jailbreaking and may consider them out of warranty.
In July 2010, the U.S. Library of Congress declared that jailbreaking is a right of all iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad owners, settling the matter. This ruling was closely tied to a related term, unlocking.
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