Jailbroken iPhone users getting locked out of the App Store

[ModeratorOMD]

The number of apps saying, "This Application Does Not Support Jailbroken Devices" is on the rise. You're just browsing the app store, downloading apps from iTunes and only after you've downloaded the app, you receive this message. Skype does this.

The most recent app being Swamp People, by A&E Television Network. I'm just going to be blunt: I strongly disagree, that developers should be doing that. It's our iPhone and we can do whatever we want with them. You don't get error messages on Windows saying "We do not support computers with dual booted systems or we do not support your modded PC."

I think it's a very dumb decision for developers to make, because the majority of people who use iPhones have them Jailbroken, so that's them losing money and popularity (for the sake of?)

I mean, I probably would have deleted the app after 5 minutes, but now it doesn't even get a chance. I give great reviews. Not only that, but why would they go through the effort? It's Jailbroken, which means that whatever method they're using to detect Jailbroken iPhones can be masked if need be, and if not, there are other ways to get the app.

So, either way it works against them. I just hope that this doesn't catch on. Yes, the incentives for having a Jailbroken iPhone is so great, that it means more to me than your insignificant app.

Again, apps that lock you out because you're Jailbroken, that is very, very stupid. There's no way the app developer could possibly understand the concept of Jailbreaking and what it means for them.

Do you agree or disagree?

 

[1982ollie]

I agree with you buddy and who knows where this will go. I've come across a couple and yes Skype is one of them, but it still runs on my phone and iPad, but with no push notifications. Like you say its there loss!

 

[BLiNK]

well this was mentioned a while back and now it is becoming a reality?..

i am still waiting for the watermarking Apple had supposedly in the works

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

For the most part, I agree that they shouldn't make apps unusable on jailbroken devices. But there are two
issues here:

Pirating and copyrighted material.

I can't blame developers for being upset that their apps get pirated and people get them for free on
jailbroken devices. This is their way of fighting back.

Like the Time Warner app doesn't work on jailbroken devices. Because they're worried about people
with jailbroken devices somehow copying copyrighted material and spreading it for free.

It's a two-way street here.

 

[ModeratorOMD]

These days, you have to have a jailbroken iPhone if you truly want to take advantage of the device. The kinds of developers that are making these unusable apps are not real developers.

If I had an app, I wouldn't mind it becoming pirated, that's one of the best ways to become popular.

The war is on, it's really on.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

If I had an app, I wouldn't mind it becoming pirated, that's one of the best ways to become popular.

The war is on, it's really on.

Popular is one thing. But the devs are in it to make money. They lose money. Plain and simple.

 

[ModeratorOMD]

Popular is one thing. But the devs are in it to make money. They lose money. Plain and simple.

The apps are already free. Why not make it so that after the apps are downloaded, and charge for things within the app? That way you'd be banking. And it makes more sense.

And if they're in it for the money, well, locking out 3/4 of your users from ever seeing it at all, is a fast track on the "losing money" route.

Now, they just made people mad for wasting their time downloading the app, when it should have been the #1 descriptor: You cannot use our app.

What do they want us to do? Go back to using normal iPhones? Never.

 

[Massie]

I think it's a very dumb decision for developers to make, because the majority of people who use iPhones have them Jailbroken, so that's them losing money and popularity (for the sake of?)

Unfortunately, this is nowhere close to true. We jailbreakers are a vast, vast minority of total iOS users. So don't expect developers to miss us.

 

[1982ollie]

For the most part, I agree that they shouldn't make apps unusable on jailbroken devices. But there are two
issues here:

Pirating and copyrighted material.

I can't blame developers for being upset that their apps get pirated and people get them for free on
jailbroken devices. This is their way of fighting back.

Like the Time Warner app doesn't work on jailbroken devices. Because they're worried about people
with jailbroken devices somehow copying copyrighted material and spreading it for free.

It's a two-way street here.

I agree with you here. But look at PC's. They are no different and loads of Microsoft software gets pirated.

What needs to happen is stuff like installous and xsellize need to be taken out. To be honest I can't believe they get away with what they do.

Someone please explain to me how they do get away with BLATANTLY pirating software, etc. They don't even sell it, so what is in it for them. I need educating here??

 

[cardfan]

The apps are already free. Why not make it so that after the apps are downloaded, and charge for things within the app? That way you'd be banking. And it makes more sense.

And if they're in it for the money, well, locking out 3/4 of your users from ever seeing it at all, is a fast track on the "losing money" route.

Now, they just made people mad for wasting their time downloading the app, when it should have been the #1 descriptor: You cannot use our app.

What do they want us to do? Go back to using normal iPhones? Never.

3/4 the users? I think you've got a poor idea of how many jailbreak their iOS devices. It's a small fraction.

 

[Fausty82]

The number of apps saying, "This Application Does Not Support Jailbroken Devices" is on the rise. You're just browsing the app store, downloading apps from iTunes and only after you've downloaded the app, you recieve this message. Skype does this.

The most recent app being Swamp People, by The History Channel. I'm just going to be blunt, I strongly disagree, that developers should be doing that. It's our iPhone and we can do whatever we want with them. You don't get error messages on Windows saying "We do not support computers with dual booted systems or we do not support your modded PC."

I think it's a very dumb decision for developers to make, because the majority of people who use iPhones have them Jailbroken, so that's them losing money and popularity (for the sake of?)

I mean, I probably would have deleted the app after 5 minutes, but now it doesn't even get a chance. I give great reviews. Not only that, but why would they go through the effort? It's Jailbroken, which means that whatever method they're using to detect Jailbroken iPhones can be masked if need be, and if not, there are other ways to get the app.

So, either way it works against them. I just hope that this doesn't catch on. Yes, the incentives for having a Jailbroken iPhone is so great, that it means more to me than your insignificant app.

Again, apps that lock you out because you're Jailbroken, that is very, very stupid. There's no way the app developer could possibly understand the concept of Jailbreaking and what it means for them.

Do you agree or disagree?

While I don't disagree with you position that it's your device and you are free to use it however you choose, aren't the app developers also free to do as they wish with their software?

I would also disagree with your statement " the majority of people who use iPhones have them Jailbroken". I would doubt that even the majority on the iMore forums are jailbroken... and that discounts the millions of users who just buy the phone and "use" it...

It does, however seem somewhat short-sighted on the part of the developers to exclude a portion of their potential customers... then again, perhaps they've encountered support issues with jailbroken phones. You have to realize that the process of jailbreaking does exploit a security vulnerability and does, in fact. replace a portion of Apple's code with new code... that said, it's possible that some apps WON'T work with a jailbroken phone...

Just one man's opinion.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

The apps are already free. Why not make it so that after the apps are downloaded, and charge for things within the app? That way you'd be banking. And it makes more sense.

And if they're in it for the money, well, locking out 3/4 of your users from ever seeing it at all, is a fast track on the "losing money" route.

Now, they just made people mad for wasting their time downloading the app, when it should have been the #1 descriptor: You cannot use our app.

What do they want us to do? Go back to using normal iPhones? Never.

Because if you have an app that's only available in the U.S. and it's free, someone can download the pirated version in another country. What if there are features within the app that only work in the U.S.? I believe that once the app is installed on the phone then you're able to write a review in the app store. People will give it a bad rating.

You sound a bit entitled. It is your phone. You can do what you want with it. But it's the dev's app. He/she can do whatever they want with it as well. "Wasting time" downloading it is less valuable than the time a dev puts into creating an app only to have it pirated, thus taking money out of their pocket.

 

[BLiNK]

Unfortunately, this is nowhere close to true. We jailbreakers are a vast, vast minority of total iOS users. So don't expect developers to miss us.

3/4 the users? I think you've got a poor idea of how many jailbreak their iOS devices. It's a small fraction.

agreed. this is just the beginning of Apples thwart before it becomes huge a problem

 

[Fausty82]

These days, you have to have a jailbroken iPhone if you truly want to take advantage of the device. The kinds of developers that are making these unusable apps are not real developers.

If I had an app, I wouldn't mind it becoming pirated, that's one of the best ways to become popular.

The war is on, it's really on.

First of all, this statement is absolutely NOT true. It may be true for how you choose to use your phone, but generally, it is not. The vast majority of non-jb users are quite happy with their iOS experience, at least as far as I have seen/encountered.

And the whole issue of piracy is valid. Piracy is theft... and as such is wrong, and the discussion of it is taboo here... but suffice it to say that the developer can't feed his family with "popular"...

 

[Just_Me_D]

First of all, this statement is absolutely NOT true. It may be true for how you choose to use your phone, but generally, it is not. The vast majority of non-jb users are quite happy with their iOS experience, at least as far as I have seen/encountered.

I am one of the many people who are content with their non-jailbroken iPhone bringing legitimacy to your statement.

And the whole issue of piracy is valid. Piracy is theft... and as such is wrong, and the discussion of it is taboo here... but suffice it to say that the developer can't feed his family with "popular"...

'nuf said!




Just Me, D
(Tapatalk - iPhone 4S)

 

[ModeratorOMD]

While I don't disagree with you position that it's your device and you are free to use it however you choose, aren't the app developers also free to do as they wish with their software?

I would also disagree with your statement " the majority of people who use iPhones have them Jailbroken". I would doubt that even the majority on the iMore forums are jailbroken... and that discounts the millions of users who just buy the phone and "use" it...

Kind of hard to think that when Absinthe 2.0 is out!!! and 5.1.1 JailBreak Waiting Room..... topics are the hottest, most viewed, and most popular topic on this forum right now. Add to that that Absinthe 2.0 was used to jailbreak nearly one million iOS devices in a single weekend.

A single weekend.

First of all, this statement is absolutely NOT true. It may be true for how you choose to use your phone, but generally, it is not. The vast majority of non-jb users are quite happy with their iOS experience, at least as far as I have seen/encountered.

And the whole issue of piracy is valid. Piracy is theft... and as such is wrong, and the discussion of it is taboo here... but suffice it to say that the developer can't feed his family with "popular"...

Yes they can feed their family with popular, popularity is synonymous with $$$. Especially in an ecosystem like iOS. Blocking your own apps is just going to equal less money.

Jailbreaking, however, is not synonymous with piracy. You have to look for Installous.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Kind of hard to think that when the most recent Jailbreak method is the hottest, most viewed, and most popular topic on this forum right now. Add to that that Absinthe 2.0 was used to jailbreak nearly one million iOS devices in a single weekend.

A single weekend.

Jailbroken iPhones are as common as normal iPhones. That's why they felt the need to block their own apps.



Yes they can feed their family with popular, popularity is synonymous with $$$ especially in an ecosystem like iOS. Blocking your own apps is just going to equal less money.

One million is peanuts considering the number of iPhones and iPads that are purchased. You gotta do better than that.

 

[ModeratorOMD]

One million is peanuts considering the number of iPhones and iPads that are purchased. You gotta do better than that.

The key word is single weekend. This is just one jailbreak. There are tons of other jailbreaks. So, I would say the amount of jailbroken phones is very close to half .

It's enough phones for it to be an issue.

I don't always jailbreak my Apple devices, but when I do, I don't like being locked out of the app store and not having the ability to spend my 30-40 seconds with an app that I will soon delete. I like to at least have the luxury of doing that.

Really, it's a matter of preventing this sort of thing from catching on.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Jailbreaking, however, is not synonymous with piracy. You have to look for Installous.

Well, how else are you able to look for Installous? By jail breaking. I'm not wagging my finger at jailbreakers, because my devices are jail broken. I just don't pretend that piracy isn't an issue.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

The key word is single weekend. This is just one jailbreak. There are tons of other jailbreaks. So, I would say the amount of jailbroken phones is very close to half .

It's enough phones for it to be an issue.

I don't always jailbreak my Apple devices, but when I do, I don't like being locked out of the app store and not having the ability to spend my 30-40 seconds with an app that I will soon delete. I like to at least have the luxury of doing that.

Really, it's a matter of preventing this sort of thing from catching on.

"...so I would say.." isn't enough, lol. You need to bring hard statistics here.