Rishabh Shanbhag on the Popularity of iOS Jailbreaking

Jailbreaking allows you to unlock the true potential of your iOS device. You may not know how to add various shortcuts from your iPhone’s control center or change themes and fonts with a few touches. But jailbreaking can help you do all that, provided you know how to do it properly. And Rishabh Shanbhag is the master of iOS jailbreaking. Don’t worry; it’s an entirely legal process, and no one can sue you or send you to jail. Rishabh got involved in iOS jailbreaking at the early age of 13. He loves to be able to tweak Apple’s iOS ecosystem and help give users the ability to enhance the functionality of their device. 

The popularity of iOS jailbreaking

The concept of iOS jailbreaking became popular about five to seven years ago. Rishabh was one of the few people involved in the early days of iOS jailbreaking. But is it still relevant today?

According to Rishabh, jailbreaking is currently not as popular as it was five years ago. He says, “From the perspective of the average user, jailbreaking is not as popular as it was a couple of years ago. There are several reasons for it, but the most notable one is that over the years Apple has incorporated several functionalities that were made popular through jailbreak tweaks/packages into iOS. There’s also the added fact that Apple has tightened up its security with each firmware release, adding more complexity to find a vulnerability. Obviously, there’s still a niche of users who are actively involved in it – but it’s not as big as it was before.”

Coders still spend hours cracking down on Apple’s restrictions, but they are not releasing jailbreaks as they used to earlier. One of the reasons that contribute to the low frequency of releases is the disinterest in exploiting BootROM for post-A4 devices.

Rishabh’s involvement in iOS jailbreaking

Over the years, Rishabh has helped hundreds of people figure out the tricks to jailbreak iOS and customize their device. He then moved on to developing an alternative to Cydia called iDebStore. Rishabh would tweak Apple’s themes, fonts, and Control Center. It was as if he operated the operating system and not vice versa.

Rishabh’s iDebStore had allowed jailbreakers to customize jailbroken devices and install third-party applications through a web browser. This wasn’t possible if you went through Apple’s Store or Cydia. In a recent interview about making money with jailbreaking, Rishabh said, “iOS Jailbreaking is a multi-million-dollar industry. For me, it was more of a hobby and for fun, but for others, finding security vulnerabilities or developing application packages for jailbroken devices can certainly be a living.”

It is only a matter of time before Rishabh launches another application for his fans. His rise to fame at such a young age is an inspiration for many.