Anthony Bouchard

Anthony Bouchard joined the iDownloadBlog.com team in 2016 after originally covering Apple and iPhone jailbreak news at ModMyi.com. As an experienced editor, he brings more than 15 years’ worth of jailbreaking knowledge to our in-depth guides, opinion pieces, and news articles. His passion for device customization and user choice sparks his strong push to empower readers with the tools they need to explore and enjoy the freedom that comes with jailbreaking. Anthony blogs about not only jailbreaking, but also Apple software & accessories, drones & photography, and Nintendo gaming systems. Anthony honed his advanced technical knowledge over the years with hands-on projects ranging from gaming PC builds to engine repair mechanics. His never-ending hunger for knowledge is why you’ll always find him tinkering – tearing things apart and putting them back together to understand what makes them tick.

BetterWidgets offers more customization for iOS’ Today widgets

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 16, 2020

Lots of iPhone and iPad users take advantage of iOS’ Today widget system to snag a glance at pertinent information without needing to launch and navigate complex apps. But Apple doesn’t provide much in terms of widget customization.

If you have a jailbroken handset at your disposal, then you can take advantage of a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called BetterWidgets by iOS developer ShadowDev to get the customization options that Apple has deprived you of since the Today widget system came to be.

Apple no longer signing iOS 13.4, preventing downgrades from iOS 13.4.1

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 15, 2020

Apple on Wednesday stopped signing iOS and iPadOS 13.4, a move on the Cupertino-based company’s part that prevents its users from intentionally downgrading their handset’s firmware version to anything besides the latest release.

Notably, iOS and iPadOS 13.4.1 were only just released last week. Apple typically waits two weeks before closing signing windows for its firmware, but has demonstrated a more aggressive approach to this behavior more recently.

Command your iPhone’s Status Bar with peep

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 15, 2020

The Status Bar is used to display pertinent information about your iOS device at a glance, including the battery level, signal strength, and time, to name just a few of those things. While I like seeing the Status Bar in most cases, I can also attest to the fact that I sometimes wish I could hide it unobtrusively, such as when playing Pokémon GO for instance (as it doesn't blend in well with the game's background).

Here to help with such a whim is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed peep by iOS developer ConorTheDev, which lets users hide and show their iOS device’s Status Bar on demand with just a tap.

Veza is an aesthetically pleasing Lock screen toggle and shortcut interface

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 15, 2020

Upon refreshing your sources in your pwned handset’s package manager, you should be able to feast your eyes on a newly released jailbreak tweak dubbed Veza by ApexTweaks in your Changes tab.

Veza makes it easier to interact with your device by adding a myriad of handy Control Center-inspired shortcuts and toggles directly to your Lock screen. In the screenshot examples embedded above, you’ll notice that the tweak is as aesthetically pleasing as it is customizable.

DockSpring lets you use your iPhone’s Dock to respring

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 15, 2020

Jailbroken iOS device owners know just how important it is to respring after installing jailbreak tweaks or applying changes to their extensions. That’s precisely why it’s convenient to have a means of respringing your handset on demand.

DockSpring is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak created by iOS developer neoney that lets you respring your pwned iPhone with a simple slide-up gesture from the Home screen’s Dock. Not only is it incredibly convenient, but the animations are top-notch as well.

Ryan Petrich launches new Activator beta with preliminary iOS 13 support

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 12, 2020

Activator, perhaps one of the most-used extensions ever created for the jailbreak community, received a beta update this weekend to add the first official support for iOS/iPadOS 13 since the checkra1n and unc0ver jailbreak tools made pwning these versions possible. At the time of this writing, the latest Activator beta is now version 1.9.13~beta6.

Project lead developer Ryan Petrich announced the new beta version with preliminary iOS 13 support via Twitter late last night, along with Activator’s sister extension, Flipswitch:

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Arc, dotto+, DNDMyRecording, and more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 12, 2020

The COVID-19 situation hasn't gotten any better yet, resulting in yet more lock-downs around the world. Fortunately, jailbreakers can depend on the excitement of their pwned handsets as a means of coping with stir-craziness.

In this roundup, we'll discuss all the latest jailbreak tweaks releases from Monday, April 6th to Sunday, April 12th. As usual, we'll kick things off by discussing our favorite releases of the week first, and then wrap things up with an outline of the rest afterward.

Love fortune cookies? This tweak offers fortunes without the cookie

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated December 27, 2021

Opening fortune cookies and reading the words of wisdom inside are one of my favorite parts about ordering takeout from local Chinese restaurants. On the other hand, it seems like one fortune is never enough and I’m always reaching deeper into the bag for a second.

If you’re anything like me and easily entertained by these so-called ‘fortunes,’ then you just might take a liking to a newly released and free jailbreak tweak called FortuneCookie by iOS developer alex_png. This tweak lets you receive free fortunes right on your iPhone without having to eat any unnecessary calories to get them.

This tweak lets you delete all iPhone alarms in one fell swoop

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 11, 2020

Whether you use alarm clocks to wake up every morning for work or you casually use them to wake up for special events that occur every so often, you might find yourself in a situation where alarm times change or you no longer need an alarm you’ve used previously.

If you use your iPhone as an alarm clock and find yourself in either of the two scenarios described above, then you might enjoy a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed Delete All Alarms by iOS developer 0xkuj. Just as the name implies, this tweak lets you delete all your Clock app’s alarms in one fell swoop as opposed to deleting them one-by-one as Apple currently compels you to.

Cydia v1.1.33 resolves slow loading after this morning’s update

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 10, 2020

Cydia, the package manager that comes pre-installed on the checkra1n and unc0ver jailbreaks, received an update late last night to version 1.1.32 to resolve a sporadic crash that could occur if your metadata file became corrupted.

It didn’t take long after the update surfaced that users began reporting slow application loading, especially when refreshing sources. Fortunately, Sam Bingner has released a second update to Cydia Friday evening dubbed v1.1.33, which is meant to address that same slowness.

AltStore v1.3 lets users sideload any app on their iOS device(s) for free

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 10, 2020

AltStore first made headlines here at iDB back in February when it became one of the only officially supported means of installing the unc0ver jailbreak throughout a short-lived time when Cydia Impactor was completely broken for the bulk of users. Since then, AltStore has undergone a plethora of changes, with one of the most significant of those changes surfacing just this afternoon.

Shared first by the official AltStore Twitter account, AltStore v1.3 is now available for all users with the ability to side-load any app whether you’re a patron of the service or not. Yup, you read that right, but there is a small catch...

Cydia update v1.1.32 resolves a known app crashing issue

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 10, 2020

Cydia, the default package manager installed alongside the checkra1n and unc0ver jailbreak tools, received a minor update last night that brought it up to version 1.1.32.

Checkra1n co-developer Sam Bingner broke the news about the update on /r/jailbreak, noting that this release is officially no longer marked a beta since the update fixed the last known issue with the app.