Apple gets Cydia app store lawsuit dismissed, for now

Posted:
in iOS
A US District Judge has dismissed Cydia's lawsuit claiming that Apple's App Store unfairly forced it out of business, but will allow Cydia to amend its complaint.




Originally filed in December 2020, the lawsuit by Jay Freeman, creator of Cydia, says that Apple used its monopoly position against the alternative jailbreaking store. Cydia claimed that it was forced to shut down because of Apple's allegedly unlawful control of app distribution on iOS.

Now U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has granted Apple's motion to dismiss the case. However, she has granted Freeman leave to amend his suit.

Should Freeman choose to proceed, he has until January 19, 2022, to file the amended suit. Then Apple will have until February 2, 2022, to respond.

Cydia launched as a jailbreaking tool, and a source of alternative apps and features for the iPhone, before Apple started its own App Store. It required users to first circumvent Apple's iOS security, but according to The Washington Post, some 4.5 million users were doing so at the peak of Cydia's popularity.

Apple subsequently patched at least the majority of ways its iOS could be jailbroken, making Cydia impractical to the average user. Freeman's suit also alleged that Apple tried to convince users that jailbreaking was dangerous, which he denies.

Freeman had sought trial by jury, plus damages and fees. The amount of damages would mean estimating all of the potential earnings lost since 2012, when Cydia says it was forced out of business. At its peak, Cydia earned $10 million in 2011 to 2012, by charging developers a fee for being on its store.

The dismissal of the suit was first reported by MacRumors.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    This is just a variation of the Psystar lawsuit where Psystar claimed that Apple limiting the installation of Apple's OS to its own hardware was an antitrust violation. The judge ruled that Apple's own hardware can't be considered a monopoly unto itself. 
    llamawilliamlondonlkruppwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    MplsPmuthuk_vanalingamlkruppwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 3 of 21
    Whether Jailbreaking is dangerous is like whether gun is dangerous. 
    Fred257watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 21
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 5 of 21
    Fred257Fred257 Posts: 233member
    There are so many things I can’t do on my iPhone mini that I love that I was able to do on my older jailbroken iPhones.  

    That’s why I switched to Android now.


  • Reply 6 of 21
    Fred257 said:
    There are so many things I can’t do on my iPhone mini that I love that I was able to do on my older jailbroken iPhones.  

    That’s why I switched to Android now.


    Android is clearly the better platform for you then.  That doesn’t legitimize this lawsuit.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 7 of 21
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,289member
    MplsP said:
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    And by Sherlocked do you mean? - got around to implementing the features they created private API hooks for but not the interface. 
    Most times Apple have implemented a feature later it was already being set up in the releases prior. 

    Interesting if Cydia made a significant profit lulling people into thinking Jailbreaking was safe and easy while basically creating a means to exploit the users with scams and stealing of information. I kind of wonder if there is a means for people abused by those scams to seek recourse?
    edited January 2022 watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 21
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Fred257 said:
    There are so many things I can’t do on my iPhone mini that I love that I was able to do on my older jailbroken iPhones.  

    That’s why I switched to Android now.

    Then why are you here? And you expect us to believe your fake post?
    edited January 2022 watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 9 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Let's step back.

    This isn't 2007. Security on iPhones is much more solid than back then. Maybe it's time for Apple to allow outside stores. 
    I know people here will have a fit. But couldn't Apple just say, yes you CAN install from an outside store, but doing so voids your warranty permanently and absolutely. You have an app on there and your system gets fried, too F-ing bad we won't touch it. You are SOL. Don't let the door hit you in the backside. Most people would stick with the App Store, I know I get nearly everything I need from the MacAppStore. That would be especially true when the horror stories started circulating. And tbh most people that got apps from outside would be fine. But from the small percentage who get in trouble. Well you threw the dice and took your chances. Sucks to be you.

    In many ways I see it as like people who mod their cars. You WANT to put a turbo and a nitrus injection system on it fine, just don't come crying to us when you blow a head gasket. 
    edited January 2022
  • Reply 10 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Whether Jailbreaking is dangerous is like whether gun is dangerous. 
    And as we know there are people who kill people with guns. We also know that there are many developers all over, writing malware, and there are people getting it.

    so,what was your point?
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 11 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    MplsP said:
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    I’ve never liked that term though. Apple invented that technology, and used it in our Macs for years. Then they stopped with OS X. Then they brought it back, in a more sophisticated form. It’s just too bad that Apple’s ideas and software was copied by an independent developer who then found himself on the short side of the stick when Apple started using their own technology again.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 12 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    DAalseth said:
    Let's step back.

    This isn't 2007. Security on iPhones is much more solid than back then. Maybe it's time for Apple to allow outside stores. 
    I know people here will have a fit. But couldn't Apple just say, yes you CAN install from an outside store, but doing so voids your warranty permanently and absolutely. You have an app on there and your system gets fried, too F-ing bad we won't touch it. You are SOL. Don't let the door hit you in the backside. Most people would stick with the App Store, I know I get nearly everything I need from the MacAppStore. That would be especially true when the horror stories started circulating. And tbh most people that got apps from outside would be fine. But from the small percentage who get in trouble. Well you threw the dice and took your chances. Sucks to be you.

    In many ways I see it as like people who mod their cars. You WANT to put a turbo and a nitrus injection system on it fine, just don't come crying to us when you blow a head gasket. 
    It’s not that simple. No matter what, Apple is going to be responsible. If they allow it, then they are responsible for allowing it even if they know it may be a problem and they warn people about it. Then there is the reputational problem because 99.99% of all users are ignorant of these problems. So if they can download an app, and there’s a problem, because Apple allowed it. They won’t be able to distinguish between downloading it from Apple, or elsewhere. If Apple says that they won’t honor their warrantees because of it, then there will be lawsuits. They already lost one or two over similar issues. Apple sells its platform as being more secure. Not perfect, but more secure. Android has, according to reports published every year, 98-99% of all mobile malware.what happens if that drops to 60% with iOS taking up the other 40%. I don’t even want to think about it. If they’re forced to do it, that may be what they want. Then they can say that we didn’t want this, but we were required to do it, so any problems are not due to out intentional actions.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 13 of 21
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    MplsP said:
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    That's nonsense. Both Stores launches 2008.

    It’s not nonsense. Jailbreakme 1.0 was released within days of the first iPhone release in July ‘07. Cydia came almost 9 months later. Both predate the App Store, which only had a paltry 500 apps at launch. Most people I knew jailbroke their iPhones back then, mostly for access to UI themes and games not found/allowed by Apple. Many jailbreak methods have come and gone over the years, Cydia was just the most well known. And as the App Store grew in popularity and size, less people felt the need to do it and all those methods became less and less relevant. So, in essence, the App Store did Sherlock Cydia and many others. My last jailbroken iPhone was either the 4s or the 5, and to this day I still miss all the Winterboard themes I had on it. 
    edited January 2022 muthuk_vanalingamjony0
  • Reply 14 of 21
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    melgross said:
    DAalseth said:
    Let's step back.

    This isn't 2007. Security on iPhones is much more solid than back then. Maybe it's time for Apple to allow outside stores. 
    I know people here will have a fit. But couldn't Apple just say, yes you CAN install from an outside store, but doing so voids your warranty permanently and absolutely. You have an app on there and your system gets fried, too F-ing bad we won't touch it. You are SOL. Don't let the door hit you in the backside. Most people would stick with the App Store, I know I get nearly everything I need from the MacAppStore. That would be especially true when the horror stories started circulating. And tbh most people that got apps from outside would be fine. But from the small percentage who get in trouble. Well you threw the dice and took your chances. Sucks to be you.

    In many ways I see it as like people who mod their cars. You WANT to put a turbo and a nitrus injection system on it fine, just don't come crying to us when you blow a head gasket. 
    It’s not that simple. No matter what, Apple is going to be responsible. If they allow it, then they are responsible for allowing it even if they know it may be a problem and they warn people about it. Then there is the reputational problem because 99.99% of all users are ignorant of these problems. So if they can download an app, and there’s a problem, because Apple allowed it. They won’t be able to distinguish between downloading it from Apple, or elsewhere. If Apple says that they won’t honor their warrantees because of it, then there will be lawsuits. They already lost one or two over similar issues. Apple sells its platform as being more secure. Not perfect, but more secure. Android has, according to reports published every year, 98-99% of all mobile malware.what happens if that drops to 60% with iOS taking up the other 40%. I don’t even want to think about it. If they’re forced to do it, that may be what they want. Then they can say that we didn’t want this, but we were required to do it, so any problems are not due to out intentional actions.
    The thing is that there is getting to be more and more pressure to open up iOS to other stores. From developers, from parts of the public, from regulators. Misguided or not that is what Apple is facing. Might it not be better for Apple to control how this unfolds rather than waiting for it to be legislated? Start with Apple Approved stores perhaps?
  • Reply 15 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Japhey said:
    MplsP said:
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    That's nonsense. Both Stores launches 2008.

    It’s not nonsense. Jailbreakme 1.0 was released within days of the first iPhone release in July ‘07. Cydia came almost 9 months later. Both predate the App Store, which only had a paltry 500 apps at launch. Most people I knew jailbroke their iPhones back then, mostly for access to UI themes and games not found/allowed by Apple. Many jailbreak methods have come and gone over the years, Cydia was just the most well known. And as the App Store grew in popularity and size, less people felt the need to do it and all those methods became less and less relevant. So, in essence, the App Store did Sherlock Cydia and many others. My last jailbroken iPhone was either the 4s or the 5, and to this day I still miss all the Winterboard themes I had on it. 
    One of the biggest reasons for jailbreaking was to get a free hotspot, which was contractually limited back then, and required an extra fee from the carrier. Apple was, and still is, very careful about allowing services that conflict with the contractual obligations of their users. Google was, and to a great extent, though not as much as before, allowing anything and everything. Their excuse was that since they kept a hands off approach to their store, and did no curating, they weren’t responsible for what got published there. That’s been a rule for some time, though lately it’s come under some question.

    apple had 512 apps available the first day, which was considered to be quite a feat at the time, considering it was done all in secret. The number grew swiftly, and very shortly they had thousands. It didn’t take long before the had tens of thousands. At the time Microsoft had about 20,000, which was considered to be a lot. But before too long, Apple surpassed that. The number of apps was never the problem. It was the quest of some people for illegal services and features that disabled some of Apple’s features, or added those that Apple considered to be either unsafe, or problematic.

    i don’t agree that it Sherlocked Cydia. The concept of that is that it was done deliberately. It really wasn’t. It was a result of Apple’s continuing quest to make their system secure. The fact that jailbreaking relied, not on OS features, but bugs, means that Apple needed to close them up. And so they did. Cydia was never more than a minor irritant to Apple.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 16 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    DAalseth said:
    melgross said:
    DAalseth said:
    Let's step back.

    This isn't 2007. Security on iPhones is much more solid than back then. Maybe it's time for Apple to allow outside stores. 
    I know people here will have a fit. But couldn't Apple just say, yes you CAN install from an outside store, but doing so voids your warranty permanently and absolutely. You have an app on there and your system gets fried, too F-ing bad we won't touch it. You are SOL. Don't let the door hit you in the backside. Most people would stick with the App Store, I know I get nearly everything I need from the MacAppStore. That would be especially true when the horror stories started circulating. And tbh most people that got apps from outside would be fine. But from the small percentage who get in trouble. Well you threw the dice and took your chances. Sucks to be you.

    In many ways I see it as like people who mod their cars. You WANT to put a turbo and a nitrus injection system on it fine, just don't come crying to us when you blow a head gasket. 
    It’s not that simple. No matter what, Apple is going to be responsible. If they allow it, then they are responsible for allowing it even if they know it may be a problem and they warn people about it. Then there is the reputational problem because 99.99% of all users are ignorant of these problems. So if they can download an app, and there’s a problem, because Apple allowed it. They won’t be able to distinguish between downloading it from Apple, or elsewhere. If Apple says that they won’t honor their warrantees because of it, then there will be lawsuits. They already lost one or two over similar issues. Apple sells its platform as being more secure. Not perfect, but more secure. Android has, according to reports published every year, 98-99% of all mobile malware.what happens if that drops to 60% with iOS taking up the other 40%. I don’t even want to think about it. If they’re forced to do it, that may be what they want. Then they can say that we didn’t want this, but we were required to do it, so any problems are not due to out intentional actions.
    The thing is that there is getting to be more and more pressure to open up iOS to other stores. From developers, from parts of the public, from regulators. Misguided or not that is what Apple is facing. Might it not be better for Apple to control how this unfolds rather than waiting for it to be legislated? Start with Apple Approved stores perhaps?
    I understand the pressure. That doesn’t mean that the pressure is reasonable. There’s a great chance that if Apple is forced to do what they’re being pressured to do that a lower overall experience will result. If Apple has “approved stores” it will be considered that Apple is stilling controlling them. Apple will still get their fee, and it’s that fee that people have decided they don’t want to pay. It’s all about the money, and nothing else. Don’t let anyone deceive you that it does mean anything else. Legislators around the world are just getting on the bandwagon because the think voters will like their stance. Or, in the case of some countries, they hope it will weaken Apple to their benefit. When our government puts their stamp of approval on this activity, it gives other government the ability to act, saying that if the US government is doing it, it must be ok for them too.

    I remember when Apple announced the 30% fee and what they were doing for it. Developers were joyful, because 30% was so much lower than they were paying everywhere else. They forget that. EPIC, who basically started all of this, is known as one of the greediest companies out there. They also charge 30% in their own store, and are stricter than Apple.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 17 of 21
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    melgross said:
    Japhey said:
    MplsP said:
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    That's nonsense. Both Stores launches 2008.

    It’s not nonsense. Jailbreakme 1.0 was released within days of the first iPhone release in July ‘07. Cydia came almost 9 months later. Both predate the App Store, which only had a paltry 500 apps at launch. Most people I knew jailbroke their iPhones back then, mostly for access to UI themes and games not found/allowed by Apple. Many jailbreak methods have come and gone over the years, Cydia was just the most well known. And as the App Store grew in popularity and size, less people felt the need to do it and all those methods became less and less relevant. So, in essence, the App Store did Sherlock Cydia and many others. My last jailbroken iPhone was either the 4s or the 5, and to this day I still miss all the Winterboard themes I had on it. 
    One of the biggest reasons for jailbreaking was to get a free hotspot, which was contractually limited back then, and required an extra fee from the carrier. Apple was, and still is, very careful about allowing services that conflict with the contractual obligations of their users. Google was, and to a great extent, though not as much as before, allowing anything and everything. Their excuse was that since they kept a hands off approach to their store, and did no curating, they weren’t responsible for what got published there. That’s been a rule for some time, though lately it’s come under some question.

    apple had 512 apps available the first day, which was considered to be quite a feat at the time, considering it was done all in secret. The number grew swiftly, and very shortly they had thousands. It didn’t take long before the had tens of thousands. At the time Microsoft had about 20,000, which was considered to be a lot. But before too long, Apple surpassed that. The number of apps was never the problem. It was the quest of some people for illegal services and features that disabled some of Apple’s features, or added those that Apple considered to be either unsafe, or problematic.

    i don’t agree that it Sherlocked Cydia. The concept of that is that it was done deliberately. It really wasn’t. It was a result of Apple’s continuing quest to make their system secure. The fact that jailbreaking relied, not on OS features, but bugs, means that Apple needed to close them up. And so they did. Cydia was never more than a minor irritant to Apple.
    Good info here on the use of jailbreaking for hotspots and illegal purposes. I certainly wasn’t trying to make a blanket statement on all the reasons that people would jailbreak their devices, only the reasons that me and “most people I knew” did. So, this is good supplemental info that represents the allure to a different type of user than we were at the time. 

    I would also agree that the term “Sherlock” implies a deliberate act on Apples part to limit the relevance of Cydia. However, I used the phrase “in essence” to illustrate the fact that whether it was deliberate or not, Apple would never publicly admit to it. Yes, the iOS upgrades patched bugs and improved the system security, but don’t think for one second that Apple wasn’t also trying to preemptively protect its golden goose at the same time. Publicly admitting to it would have been tantamount to giving jailbreaking free press  though. 

    Like I said, I haven’t been part of the jailbreaking community in almost ten years, so I’m not speaking for anyone that still does it. But for many of us that just did it for fun or as a hobby, and not for nefarious reasons, the constant game of cat and mouse every time Apple released a new iOS upgrade simply got old. Added to the fact that many of the reasons people did it in the first place ended up with equivalent options in the App Store, the overall effect was a significant decrease in the size of the community. So, while Cydia may not have been Sherlocked deliberately (publicly), “in essence” that’s exactly what happened. 
    edited January 2022 muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 21
    There is a possible way for Apple to open up for non-verified 3:rd-party apps if these were sandboxed as web apps. Because I don’t think a bad web site is damaging Apple’s brand or jeopardizing its system safety today, right?

    So, I think an easy way for Apple to escape this growing App Store problem would be to simply offer a special section for web apps in the store. These web apps would be runnung in WebKit, and possible to install and execute on the iOS desktop like today.

    In this way, anybody could offer their apps on the App Store without Apple’s control or commission, and they still would work inside Apple’s ecosystem — albeit limited to WebKit functionality. They would be coded in the way “originally intended” for the iPhone.

    If you want to code your app in an even fancier way, with deeper “native” integration to Apple’s iOS, then you would be demanded to undergo quality- and security verifications. You would naturally also be charged for that process, as well as access fees to the API:s Apple has developed — for example in proportion to the number of API calls made by each user running that app.

    I think it would be quite hard for developers, and others, to drive a court case against that. 
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 19 of 21
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Japhey said:
    melgross said:
    Japhey said:
    MplsP said:
    melgross said:
    Jailbreaking was dangerous. It bypassed much of the phone’s security, leaving open the possibility that some jailbroken app was malware that could much more easily cause problems.

    nevertheless, some people risked it. The main reason why it died was not because Apple made it more difficult, though that was certainly a reason, but because Apple had added most of the features people were jailbreaking for. There was little reason for it at that point.

    it’s interesting that with all the hoopla over Android/s “openness”, it’s still recommended to only download apps from the Google Play Store, and not sideload, for reasons of safety.
    Exactly. In the early days, people jail broke their phones so they could do things that iOS didn’t let them do. That became a moot point as apple introduced its own App Store and expanded the capabilities of iOS. Essentially Apple sherlocked Cydia
    That's nonsense. Both Stores launches 2008.

    It’s not nonsense. Jailbreakme 1.0 was released within days of the first iPhone release in July ‘07. Cydia came almost 9 months later. Both predate the App Store, which only had a paltry 500 apps at launch. Most people I knew jailbroke their iPhones back then, mostly for access to UI themes and games not found/allowed by Apple. Many jailbreak methods have come and gone over the years, Cydia was just the most well known. And as the App Store grew in popularity and size, less people felt the need to do it and all those methods became less and less relevant. So, in essence, the App Store did Sherlock Cydia and many others. My last jailbroken iPhone was either the 4s or the 5, and to this day I still miss all the Winterboard themes I had on it. 
    One of the biggest reasons for jailbreaking was to get a free hotspot, which was contractually limited back then, and required an extra fee from the carrier. Apple was, and still is, very careful about allowing services that conflict with the contractual obligations of their users. Google was, and to a great extent, though not as much as before, allowing anything and everything. Their excuse was that since they kept a hands off approach to their store, and did no curating, they weren’t responsible for what got published there. That’s been a rule for some time, though lately it’s come under some question.

    apple had 512 apps available the first day, which was considered to be quite a feat at the time, considering it was done all in secret. The number grew swiftly, and very shortly they had thousands. It didn’t take long before the had tens of thousands. At the time Microsoft had about 20,000, which was considered to be a lot. But before too long, Apple surpassed that. The number of apps was never the problem. It was the quest of some people for illegal services and features that disabled some of Apple’s features, or added those that Apple considered to be either unsafe, or problematic.

    i don’t agree that it Sherlocked Cydia. The concept of that is that it was done deliberately. It really wasn’t. It was a result of Apple’s continuing quest to make their system secure. The fact that jailbreaking relied, not on OS features, but bugs, means that Apple needed to close them up. And so they did. Cydia was never more than a minor irritant to Apple.
    Good info here on the use of jailbreaking for hotspots and illegal purposes. I certainly wasn’t trying to make a blanket statement on all the reasons that people would jailbreak their devices, only the reasons that me and “most people I knew” did. So, this is good supplemental info that represents the allure to a different type of user than we were at the time. 

    I would also agree that the term “Sherlock” implies a deliberate act on Apples part to limit the relevance of Cydia. However, I used the phrase “in essence” to illustrate the fact that whether it was deliberate or not, Apple would never publicly admit to it. Yes, the iOS upgrades patched bugs and improved the system security, but don’t think for one second that Apple wasn’t also trying to preemptively protect its golden goose at the same time. Publicly admitting to it would have been tantamount to giving jailbreaking free press  though. 

    Like I said, I haven’t been part of the jailbreaking community in almost ten years, so I’m not speaking for anyone that still does it. But for many of us that just did it for fun or as a hobby, and not for nefarious reasons, the constant game of cat and mouse every time Apple released a new iOS upgrade simply got old. Added to the fact that many of the reasons people did it in the first place ended up with equivalent options in the App Store, the overall effect was a significant decrease in the size of the community. So, while Cydia may not have been Sherlocked deliberately (publicly), “in essence” that’s exactly what happened. 
    I still don’t think of it that way. The way I think of it is that it simply became obsolete.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 20 of 21
    Haha… I just handed out a beautiful multi-billion dollar solution in my post here a few days ago, and nobody hasn’t even commented on it. Too complicated? Brains, boys! Brains!
    edited January 2022 watto_cobra
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