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.

Auto SilentMe silences your iPhone based on calendar events

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 28, 2017

There are times when you can take notifications, and then there are times when you just can't. While Do Not Disturb is a great tool for this, it’s not the perfect solution to avoiding unwanted notifications because it relies on you to manually enable or schedule it, and sometimes we forget.

That’s a weak link that a new jailbreak tweak called Auto SilentMe by iOS developer IArrays hopes to strengthen, as it brings new notification-suppressing features to your device that will prevent embarrassing notifications from coming in when you don't want them knocking at the door.

This tweak helps break the habit of recording videos in portrait orientation

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 28, 2017

It bothers me from time to time when I watch videos on social media or YouTube and realize just how many people record their videos while their smartphone is in portrait orientation.

These services are formatted for computer screens, which naturally have displays longer than they are tall, so recording videos in this way usually degrades the viewing experience for the viewer. That’s why a free jailbreak tweak called VerticalVideoSyndrome 2 by iOS developer Andreas Henriksson is now available.

This tweak lets you manually designate favorite Emojis

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 27, 2017

The iOS keyboard includes a key dedicated specifically to accessing the host of Emojis you can use to express your mood. Part of this interface includes a section for Emojis you use frequently, and while it can be useful, suggestions aren't always ideal.

With a new jailbreak tweak dubbed FavoriteEmojis by iOS developer Adeem Mawani, you can manually designate your favorite Emojis by choice; these are the ones that will begin populating the “Frequently Used."

QuietWhileUnlocked silences obtrusive notifications when your iPhone is unlocked

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 27, 2017

When you’re using your iPhone, sometimes the influx of notification sounds and vibrations can be enough to frustrate even the most tolerant of multitaskers who are trying to get things done.

Fortunately, a free jailbreak tweak called QuietWhileUnlocked by iOS developer The Holy Confluency of the Summer Triangle helps solve this problem by supressing notification sounds and vibrations whenever your device is unlocked.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: ActIf 2, Kairos 2, & more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 25, 2017

With the jailbreak community becoming a bit more active in recent weeks, we've seen a number of interesting releases and even teases of upcoming releases that are sure to knock your socks off.

In this roundup, we'll talk about all of the jailbreak tweaks that were released during the past week, starting with our favorites. We'll outline all of the rest of the tweak releases after we get through the best of the best.

Kairos 2 lets you schedule text messages for future dates and times

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 25, 2017

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could schedule iMessages or text messages to send at a future date?” Well, now you don’t have to just sit and wish for such functionality anymore.

A jailbreak tweak called Kairos 2 by iOS developer CP Digital Darkroom enables iMessage and SMS scheduling right from the stock Messages app on your jailbroken iPhone or iPad.

ClassicPlayer turns your iPhone into an iPod Classic

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 25, 2017

Those who've been using Apple products for years might be familiar with the days when the iPod Classic reigned supreme as a music player. It was made famous by its click-wheel design, which responded to touch and drag gestures for navigating your music.

A new jailbreak app dubbed ClassicPlayer by iOS developer Guillermo Moran (fr0st) brings this experience to the iPhone for all the nostalgic folks out there who are missing the click-wheel experience from the days of yore.

Make Control Center’s Now Playing interface full screen with Sinatra

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 25, 2017

iOS’ Now Playing interface showcases any music you’re listening to and includes controls for adjusting your playback settings, but there are so many ways the interface could be improved.

A new jailbreak tweak called Sinatra by iOS developer candoizo takes some first steps towards improving the Now Playing interface in Control Center while still maintaining an Apple-esque design standard.

KeenLab demos a jailbreak for iOS 10.3.2 and iOS 11 beta

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 23, 2017

Security research team KeenLab has demoed working jailbreaks for both iOS 10.3.2 and iOS 11 beta on some of Apple's latest handsets to date while presenting at MOSEC 2017.

The photographs from the jailbreak demo were originally shared Friday morning on Twitter by security engineer Min Zheng.

The best jailbreak tweaks for the Lock screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 22, 2017

The Lock screen separates the outside world from your personal data and is the first thing you interact with any time you use your device. If you're using the Yalu jailbreak for iOS 10, then you might be wondering about the best ways to personalize it.

In this piece, we’ll discuss the best Lock screen-oriented jailbreak tweaks released since the iOS 10 jailbreak launched to the general public.

Full schedule for the JailbreakersUnite 2017 conference materializes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 21, 2017

At the beginning of June, we shared the news of a new conference called JailbreakersUnite, which will allow avid jailbreakers to meet up with one another and have an opportunity to listen to prominent community members speak about their projects.

The event, which is taking place at the Fat Cat Fab Lab Maker Space in Greenwich Village in New York City, will be like a slimmed-down WWJC and will allow participants to mingle with those with similar interests and grab selfies with famous jailbreak hackers and developers.

ActIf 2 brings conditional statement support to Activator

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 21, 2017

To say Activator is a useful tool for jailbreakers is an understatement; the popular extension is by far one of the most powerful tools ever designed for jailbroken devices, and its popularity today is a testament to how the classics never die.

Despite how useful it is out of the box, you can now make it even more powerful with a new jailbreak tweak dubbed ActIf 2 by iOS developer Jay Zuerndorfer, which adds support for conditional statements.