Jailbreak Apps

How to Backup and Restore SMS Messages Using PKGBackup [Video Tutorial]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 4, 2011

One of the most frustrating things that I've encountered with the iPhone, is doing backups and restores. Now admittedly, most people are okay with this, they just backup their iPhone with iTunes and restore with whenever necessary.

I like to take the backup and restore process a bit more seriously. For instance, I've actually created a starting point "stock" iTunes backup with all of my favorite apps, settings, mail accounts, etc.

Secondly, I have a separate backup for all of my jailbreak apps, tweaks, and settings. For this, I use PKGBackup.

I've found that the combination of the iTunes backup coupled with PKGBackup makes for a quick, and painless restore back to my favorite settings.

There's one problem with this methodology though; it doesn't backup all of my SMS messages...

‘iScreenSaver’ Reveals Your Wallpaper as Your Screen Dims

Cody Lee ∙ June 27, 2011

Dan Zimmerman's latest entry into the TweakWeek daily challenge was uploaded yesterday. The jailbreak tweak is called iScreenSaver, and it puts a new spin on the old function.

Remember when custom screen savers on your desktop were cool? The effect never really made the transition to smart phones, as 3.5" screens don't typically need saving. But Zimmerman's tweak isn't your typical screen saver...

‘BatteryShower’ Gives You More Lock Screen Battery Options

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 4, 2011

Is it show-er, or shower? I think I'll stick with shower since that's more fun to say.

Naming discrepancies aside, BatteryShower is an iPhone jailbreak tweak that is basically an extension of a previous tweak we touched on called 'ASB'.

ASB allows you to always show the battery icon on your lock screen, regardless of whether or not you have it connected to a power source.

BatteryShower takes this formula, and remixes it so to speak by also allowing you to never show the battery as well...

New Cydia Tweak Will Allow Tweeting From Anywhere Inside iOS 5

Oliver Haslam ∙ June 26, 2011

When Apple announced iOS 5 during its WWDC 2011 keynote three weeks ago, one of the standout features we were all drawn to was the twitter integration.

Promising to tie Twitter right into the operating system, iOS 5 has the potential to do some pretty cool things with one of the world's favorite social networks, but, at least in the first two beta releases, iOS 5 doesn't seem to make the most of the possibilities. Currently, the only real part of iOS to use Twitter is the Photos app, which allows the tweeting of images direct from the app.

It looks great, and works just as expected while also offering the ability to geotag tweets on the fly...

Sn0wbreeze Gets iOS 5.0 Beta 2 Treatment, 3GS Still Untethered

Cody Lee ∙ June 26, 2011

Apple seeded the 2nd beta of their iOS 5 software to developers last Friday. As typical of any new iOS firmware release, we have been asked if the new update can be jailbroken and unlocked.

Though we've heard the disappointing news that the new firmware has patched the Gevey SIM unlock, the software is certainly still jailbreakable. RedSn0w was the first to announce compatibility with the new beta, but Sn0wBreeze wasn't far behind...

iOS 5-Like Incoming Call Notifications Coming to Cydia

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

The last three weeks have been largely spent by developers writing new widgets that work with Apple's new Notification Center, part of iOS 5. We've seen so many widgets come out of the jailbreak community in the last 21 days that we can't imagine Apple not giving normal App Store developers access to Notification Center's widgets, too.

A rare tweak to be shown off that doesn't involve iOS 5's Notification Center promises to bring iOS 5-like roll-down notifications to incoming calls, making them appear and work just like other notifications do...

FakeLocation: Make Apps Believe You Are Anywhere

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

In reading through my RSS feeds this morning, I came across a jailbreak app that I couldn't believe hadn't ever covered on iDB. Though FakeLocation has been around for quite some time, it is a useful utility worth reminding folks about.

The package certainly lives up to its name, as it allows you to fake your GPS location for inquiring applications. This means that you can trick apps like Google Latitude into thinking you are located somewhere else...

SMSEnhancer Adds Photos and Timestamps to Messages App

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 18, 2017

The stock Messages app in iOS is so boring. Everything is the same color and font, and there's no option for contact photos or custom avatars. Sure there are utilities in Cydia that allow you to skin the SMS app, but they tend to make your phone feel sluggish.

If you' want to spruce up your Messages app, without dealing with Winterboard or themes, you may want to check out SMSEnhancer. This new jailbreak tweak adds contact photos and time stamps to your otherwise dull conversation screen...

‘SMSHideKeyboard’ Gives You More Room to View Your SMS History

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 4, 2011

One of the new features in iOS 5 is the ability to hide your keyboard when viewing your SMS history in the iMessage app.

It didn't take long, but there is now a jailbreak tweak available that mimics said functionality, and even allows you to hide the input box as well.

For longtime biteSMS users, this won't be new to you, but if you've been hanging onto that old outdated Messages app, this is a must have tweak to add to your collection.

Check inside for the video details surrounding SMSHideKeyboard...

Adjust Your App Label Position With ‘LabelMover’

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 4, 2011

LabelMover is a new jailbreak tweak that will presumably be a part of the TweakWeek selection of tweaks.

The purpose of this tweak is to adjust the position of your app icon labels about 1/4th from the top of the app icon.

That's pretty much all this tweak sets out to do, and to be honest with you, I uninstalled this right after shooting it...

LulzSec’s Leaked Law Enforcement Documents Reveal iPhone App Training

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 18, 2018

Lulz Security, commonly referred to as LulzSec, has been causing all sorts of chaos around the web for the past few months. The team of hackers is responsible for a number of recent attacks, including posting a fake news story on PBS.com and knocking the CIA's website offline.

Though their recent attacks have been fairly harmless, their most recent break-in has made a lot of folks nervous. Last Thursday, LulzSec published more than 700 confidential documents stolen from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS).

The 440MB of data included emails, handbooks, images and other sensitive files, some of which revealed the identities of Arizona Law Enforcement. In sifting through the data, Techland uncovered a form particularly interesting to iDB entitled "iPhone apps- used against officers.doc"

What’s On My iPhone? – June 2011 Edition

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

It's almost the end of June, so it's no secret that I'm a little overdue with this month's What's On My iPhone? Video. Better late than never, right?

This month, as usual, it's all about my favorite jailbreak tweaks and apps.

Inside, you'll find a moderately thorough walkthrough of biteSMS, along with four other highly useful jailbreak tweaks that I use on my personal iPhone.

Interested in seeing which Cydia tweaks and apps have me hooked? Then check inside for the full disclosure...