iOS

The best VPNs for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Amid all the recent conversation about ISPs retaining the legal right to sell your internet usage data, many are contemplating their VPN options so they can mask their internet activity for increased privacy and security.

In this piece, we’ll talk about some of the best VPNs for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

TransparentWeather makes your Home screen wallpaper visible in the Weather app

The background in your iPhone's Weather app typically illustrates what the weather conditions are like outside, but if you’re looking for something a little different, check out a new free jailbreak tweak called TransparentWeather by CydiaGeek.

This tweak does away with the animated weather background and makes the app transparent so you can see a ghosted image of your Home screen wallpaper behind all of your weather information.

This tweak adds a character counter to the top of the Notes app

Most of the world’s best text editors and word processors have some kind of character or word counter, but for whatever reason, Apple’s Notes app is the lone exception.

For those who wish this wasn't the case, a new free jailbreak tweak called NotesCharacterCount by iOS developer hvyc enables a character counter at the top of the Notes app.

Delta Beta 3: iOS emulator gets an update

After a considerable hiatus, Riley Testut has returned today with a third beta of his emulator application for iOS, Delta.

A relatively small changelog accompanies this update to the gaming application, a successor to the ever-popular GBA4iOS, and almost three months separate it from the previous release, Beta 2.

How to have the Music app only show songs stored on your device

Thanks to the introduction of goodies like the iCloud Music Library and more recently Apple Music, your Music app on iPhone and iPad has not only turned from a luscious red color into a plain icon, but has also become decidedly more convoluted.

The main change since the coming of the cloud-based additions to the Music app? Songs no longer have to be stored locally on your device in order to be visible and playable. In case you haven’t yet found the trick hiding in plain sight to only play the songs downloaded to your device (and prevent exorbitant data charges), let’s fill you in now!

NoLockScreenCam disables camera access on the Lock screen

Anyone with an iPhone should know by now that you can swipe to the left on the Lock screen to quickly access your camera. On the other hand, not everyone wants their camera to be readily accessible to anybody who picks the phone up.

A new free jailbreak tweak called NoLockScreenCam by i0s_tweak3r is the answer to this ongoing dilemma, as it disables access to the camera from the Lock screen.

Customize the look of your Messages app with BetterMessages

If you can’t stand the stock look of your stock Messages app, then maybe it’s time to put that jailbreak to good use.

A new free jailbreak tweak called BetterMessages by harrywantstodev provides you with a number of new customization options for making your Messages app look unique when compared to everyone else’s.

This tweak helps you differentiate comments in the official Reddit app

In the official Reddit app for iOS, gray vertical lines of varying heights appear between comments underneath posts. They’re intended to help lead the eyes, making it easier to differentiate between responses, but the gray isn't exactly easy for everyone to see.

A new free jailbreak tweak called ColorComments by Ben Giannis lets you add a splash of color to those lines, not only for improving the efficiency of how your eyes distinguish between each one, but also making the app look more unique in the process.

Has iOS 10.3 randomly turned on your previously disabled iCloud services in Settings?

Released nine days ago, iOS 10.3 appears to be randomly re-enabling iCloud features that users previously disabled in Settings. The software update consolidates the various iCloud and Apple ID-related features under one central place at the top of the Settings app. The new organization has nothing to do with this behavior. It's a bug, Apple told customers in an email message obtained by MacRumors, that affects a small number of users.

Starbucks rolls out iMessage app for gifting digital cards with Apple Pay support

As previously announced, Starbucks today updated its iPhone app with the ability to send gifts through Apple’s iMessage system and pay for them with Apple Pay directly in the Messages app. Named Starbucks Gifts, the software requires you to set up Apple Pay on your device before you can purchase gift cards in $5, $10 or $25 denominations. Today's update also brings notifications, a store location filter for the Nitro cold brew and other perks.