IamA iOS Jailbreak Tweak Developer AMA!

I haven't jail broken my iPhone in well over 3-4 years now. Has the scene diminished as iOS has added more "Jailbreak Tweaks" into the core iOS framework?

I wouldn't say the scene has diminished, I would say that the time period between new jailbreaks has increased, which is understandable as iOS keeps becoming more and more secure.

But there never has been a lack of tweaks, every day new tweaks are made, it's amazing the creativity of other developers to come up with new and inventive ideas.

It is true that as iOS progresses we see Apple "borrowing" more and more tweak ideas but unless Apple make radical changes and allow the user to better customise iOS there will still be reasons to jailbreak.

Why is it so complicated to change the font color of the Widgets to white? I love Noctis, but it bothers that it is hard to read the black font..

They are remote views, and something happens that converts them to uiviews instead of uilabels, so it's really hard, fixing it for one app can break others.

What critiques and suggestions do you have for Apple?

Let me do what I want with my device, without having to rely on someone else to hack it.

What do you do for a living?

Is this your hobby or main passion?

When did you start this tweak developing?

I don't actually have a job, I am in high school.

I do this in my spare time, I love doing it and I hope I can make a job out of programming.

I a little over a year ago.

What is your favorite beer?

Not allowed to drink.

Okay, Coke or Pepsi?

Coke

So you are of a religious background?

I can't drink due to age... plus when I do become of age, I don't really think I'll want to.

Your Twitter picture shows a piece of code. Line 33 and 36 have a different style after the "if", one with and one without the space before the (. Line 36 has no space before the {, line 44 has a space before the {. No indention on line 37. Line 37 has " + 5" with spaces and "+17.5" without spaces.

What is the consistent style in your coding?

Meh.

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Ham and Pineapple.

You are banned from /r/italy

/s

Darn!

What are your favorite apps that you didn't make yourself?

Clash Royale!

I've never jailbroken my iOS device, what does jailbreak offer to me?

Awesomeness! Think android rooting but for iOS.

I'm a total idiot. What can i customize

Customise anything you want. If you want to change something 9 out of 10 times there will be a tweak for that.

Sounds interesting, can I jailbreak my iPhone 7 by myself following some kind of a guide?

You can, it's simple, relying of course you are on iOS 10.1.1 as that is the latest that any jailbreak supports for that device.

Why not just develop for android, which natively supports more tweaks?

Good question,

I love iPhone and iOS as a platform, there is just something about how fluid and clean it is and how it works seamlessly with all my other products.

I have to admit I've given a little go at Android Development and it never really clicked like my brain did for iOS development.

Would you say you like the simplicity, clean UI and polished overall aesthetic of IOS?

I would say so, yes. I love the simplistic nature of iOS. It is clean and very well thought out. Each aspect flows together to form a seamless experience for the end user, but like with anything there is always room for improvement, which is where Jailbreak Tweaks come in.

When you say it didn't "click", do you mean you found it harder to grasp or that you just didn't like it? I've dabbled at both types of programming and found IOS way harder so it would surprise me if you had the opposite experience, haha.

I just didn't like it. I find iOS easier because i'm experienced at how it works.

How often are you on Reddit and what are your favorite subreddits?

Almost every hour, my favorite subs are r/jailbreak, r/iosthemes and r/clashroyale.

1.Do your friends know you are into iOS developing? 2.wen eta

1. Yes, many of my school folks know.

2. Son.

Do they know about jailbreak? If so what's their opinion about it?

They do know about the jailbreak and some even were persuaded to jailbreak after seeing what i could do.

How old are you?

Old enough to know that I shouldn't give that out to random people on the internet.

But that's what I say! Do we know each other? Do we go the to same school, are you my neighbor?

If you go to my school, wait outside the front gate like a loner and i'll say Hi. If you are my neighbor, scream at the top of your lungs for 10 minutes and i'll hear you.

Worried about identity theft or personal Safety?

Both.

If you converted your social security number into pennies how much money would you have??

0.

Where did you go to college/university and what did you study?

I have yet to go to College or University.

Have you ever been in actual jail?

Nope, and I don't plan on.

Are you on Apple's radar? Have they ever threatened you legally?

Nope. I doubt they even know I exist.

What does being a twink have anything to do with it?

Tweak developing is slightly different from iOS app development, Tweaks run on Jailbroken devices and can do anything.

How do you make a cool and interesting and easy to use website?

You need to really start off with a list, a list of things it needs to do.

Then draft out on some paper a layout for the site ensuring it isn't crowded and has a nice flow to it.

Then ignore all that and make it up as you go.

So any resources for new tweak devs? I already made a tweak(ColorHome) and working on a touchr alt. And cant get press function to work😭

I love it when new people get into developing, some awesome places to start are the iPhoneDevWiki, contains very detailed information on how tweak development and other things work:

http://iphonedevwiki.net/index.php/Main_Page

Also r/jailbreakdevelopers is also a good thing, you'll find many of your questions will have been asked and answered there.

There are also some awesome tutorials on youtube. Billy Ellis has some good ones.

Why are Photos tweaks rare? Is it hard to modify it?

I'm not sure, what do you mean by photos tweaks?

as in tweaks that modify the Photos app extensively. I know there's Photo Tools but it's not as good as photo organizer 8. I noticed most of the big devs aren't willing to touch it so I was wondering if there was something unusual about it.

I'm not sure, nothing special springs to mind.

How long does it take nowadays to jailbreak iOS?

I wouldn't know but we average around 6 months for new jailbreaks.

What do you do when you're not coding?

Not code.

When and how did you get into tweak development? Did you have any coding skills before starting with tweak development? Do you have any tips for new coders who want to learn iOS tweak development and maybe tell us where you srated and what books you read if any?

Thanks, really want to get into iOS Development and just started learning C so I can pick up Obj-C later on.

I got into tweak development because I saw the limitless potential of a jailbreak. I love being able to do what I want when I code and jailbreaking provided that for me.

I didn't read any books but I did have 3 years programming experience prior. I really just made it up as I went.

What language did you code in before picking up Obj-C?

Mainly your standard web languages, css, js, html, php and others. I also did some Java and Python.

So you went straight to Obj-C without learning C first?

I did.

Because of the way the current jailbreaks work, do you tell your friends to jailbreak?

Of course I do, I do help them get it all set up and working tho. It can be a little complicated for newcomers.

Do you have any friends or acquaintances In the USA?

No personal ones, but if you call people i've met via the internet then yes I do.

What part of Australia are you from? I myself are from NSW. What pointers would you have for someone wanting to get into jailbreak tweak development?

Melbourne! I would recommend checking out iPhoneDevWiki as that is a great source of information.

What advice for someone teaching themselves to code?

Just start. That's really all there is to it. iPhoneDevWiki has some good information regarding tweak development.

And studying open sourced tweaks, apple developer documentation, e-books, etc

This is also a good one!

I've got a pile of the original iPads (the ones before the camera). You cannot update the ios on these. Can they be jailbreaked in such a way as to let me run modern apps??? Or should I just turn them into cutting boards?

You can only runs apps that are supported on that iOS version, the bigger the iOS gap the more issues you will run into as things change throughout. Cutting boards sound like a good idea, if you post one to me.

How did you get into programming? What was the first step?

Just starting really, I think people find it daunting and shy away. It's easy once you get started.

Would you consider making videos on how you go about jail breaking?

Would anyone watch them!?

What advice do you have for young programmers?

Just do it!

Are you currently working on the settings tweak you said you would work on? Would be very cool!

In discussions with the designer, it's going to be awesome!

What type of protection do you have for your phone and tablet from breaking and damage?

I use an apple silicone case on my iPhone 7, jet black, nothing else. So if I drop my phone i'm screwed but I love the feel.

What are your favorite Australian stereotypes? And least favorite Australian Stereotypes?

My favorite is that we drive Kangaroos.

My least is that we are all bogans.

What is your favorite part of making jailbreak tweaks?

All of it.

How did you find out about jailbreaking ?

I saw a youtube video from the man himself, EverythingApplePro!

What other computer and software hobbies do you have?

I like to pull apart technology and see how it works but that's an expensive hobby.

What do you think was the best version of IOS from a jailbreaking standpoint?

iOS 9.0 was da bomb of jailbreak!

What software do you use to code?

Atom and a Theos installation on Windows.

What is the scariest animal in Australia and why?

Humans. Because we have the absolute power to destroy everything. We need to ensure what we do will still mean there is a world to live in that is safe and free.

What do you hate about iOS ? Or about the hardware.

I hate nothing apart from having to rely on someone else to hack it so I can do what I want!

At this point do you think its more worth while to stay up-to-date on iOS updates and sacrifice Jailbreak or always stay a few versions back and tweak? I kinda miss it

New features can always be brought down via tweaks so I don't see the point in updating.

How hard was it initially to get into this niche / possibly illegal line of work?

Also how do you feel about apple products in general?

It's not illegal, and I love them, seamless integration for all I do, now if only I could afford it.

Have you ever considered like totally messing with someone and loading iOS on their android or vice versa

😂😇

If iOS could be installed on Android devices I would have bought an S8.

Do you have any pets?

I have a dog.

Do you play video games? If so, which ones?

Not really a gamer, I do like Clash Royale tho.

What are the best reasons to use your dark mode app?

It's simple and easy to use, and it looks awesome if I don't say so myself.

What are your favorite movies?

Star Wars and Indiana Jones!

All of the movies in both Series?

All of them. Every. Single. One.

Do you happen to be working on a jailbreak for iOS 10.3.1?

I don't, i'm not really an exploit developer.

What are the differences between jailbreak tweak development and standard development? Do your write in Swift or Objective C?

It's all done with Objective C and there really isn't a difference. Just with Jailbreak Development you can do anything you want.

Do you program in Swift to create software for a jaikbroken phone? Also, what's your favorite programming language?

Obj C through and through.

What are your short term and Long term goals?

I wish I had some

Who is your celebrity crush and why?

I don't really have one.

How much time per day do you spend making tweaks?

School and other stuff come first but I average around an hour, but it all depends on school work.

Do you work for a company or do you have your own company?

I don't work for a company nor to I have my own.

How did you got into ios tweaking? Where did you start? And with what did you startv

I started a little over a year ago, and I got into tweak development when I saw the unlimited potential for tweaks I could make.

Any idea on when 10.3 jailbreak is coming? I saw pangu post something about it but everything on the page was in another language so I couldn't understand it.

I wouldn't have a clue.

OUt of all of the apple tv models, why was the Apple tv 3 (the only apple tv unit I ever bought) never been successfully jailbreak-ed?

I don't know, I don't have an Apple TV.

When did you join the Apple Cult?

My first Apple Device was a Bondi Blue iMac G3 which was given to me in 2006 when I was a young boy. I remember playing Putt Putt, it was my favorite game!