Apple to Allow iOS Jailbreak as It Disables iOS 4.2 Jailbreak Detection API?

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If there’s one thing we’ve witnessed with the iPhone is the constant battle between Cupertino and hackers when it comes to jailbreaking and unlocking the handset. While hackers hurried to offer jailbreak solutions for all major iOS updates, Apple tried to render those tools useless, at least for a little while.

In fact the company decided to offer a new API with its important iOS 4.0 release back in June, as part of a bundle of mobile device management APIs, which was able to detect jailbreaks.

Now, after six months since the API has been made available Apple has decided to silently kill it in iOS 4.2 for a reason not yet disclosed to the crowds.

As you already know there are various jailbreak tools available out there which will help you jailbreak any iOS device, the iPhone, the iPod touch and the iPad. These tools, although developed by hackers, and although voiding your iOS device’s warranty, are no longer illegal. Jailbreaking, unlocking and rooting are legal procedures, at least in the USA, which means that anyone can do whatever he or she pleases (and by that I mean jailbreak, unlock and or root a device) with their iOS devices without risking any punishment according to the law.

So why did Apple do such a thing? Why did Apple remove an API that would apparently help developers check whether certain iOS devices have been compromised by a jailbreak or not? Will Apple change its position regarding jailbreaking? Chances are that won’t happen so we might be looking at a different thing here; maybe Apple is going to implement a new system to check whether certain iOS devices have been jailbroken or not.

The major concern with jailbroken iOS devices comes from various organizations that would like to know if any jailbroken devices access their servers. They surely could use such APIs to prevent jailbroken devices from accessing files on enterprises’ servers although we haven’t heard yet of any major security breaches caused by jailbroken devices. Have you?

We’ll definitely tell you more about the whole iOS jailbreak and unlock tools that are coming in the future not to mention the ways Apple will try to prevent such activities from occurring on a regular level, so keep following us closely especially if you own an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.