The Fundamentals Behind Jailbreaking and Rooting
Most people who perceive jailbreaks as tantamount to piracy have no idea what they understand from technology. The three fundamental and predominantly bearing reasons to jailbreak are
- Root access to your file system
- Customizations (fundamental cosmetics to the theming of your device)
- Customizations in terms of adding functions to processes that some folk feel "SHOULD" come already packaged in any mobile device (damn Apple's simplicity methodology)
That being said, jailbreaking essentially is the process of transforming a limited mobile device into a device that can pretty much perform the functions of any desktop environment whether on a Mac, PC, or Linux.
And in all honesty, the fact that mobile companies prevent people from having root access to their own device that they've paid for, is ultimately a crime against freedom and choice.
Moreover, allowing root access to such devices essentially destroys all of this controversy on jailbreaking once and for all. As long as companies continue to adopt tyrannical policies as basic as not allowing root access to your own device, someone will always find a way to bring the concept of freedom to their own device.
Android is slightly different but essentially the same. Android users, while having a bit more freedom to their devices, still dont have root access to their own device, hence "rooting", the Android equivalent to iPhone's jailbreaking scene.
As for piracy, we have found multiple methods to piracy within the realm of Apple's closed proprietary walled-garden (non jailbroke devices). So, to be quite frank on the topic, holding jailbreaking hostage due to "piracy concerns" is a red herring to say the least.
We can even flip devices here. We do not see these same companies denying users root access to their Macs or PCs. Piracy on those platforms is much more lucrative than on mobile devices. This schizophrenic behavioral pattern between tyrannical measures towards mobile devices vs computers reveals that there is much more behind the real reason to prevent people from their own devices that is not being stated in tech media.