Modern-day iOS devices come equipped with advanced forms of biometric authentication right out of the box, such as Face ID or Touch ID, but you can still resort to an alphanumeric or numeric passcode if you wanted to.
It might seem counterproductive to do such a thing given just how fast and zippy Face ID and Touch ID have become, but a new jailbreak tweak release called Scribble by iOS developer Boo is sure to make you actually want to use your passcode interface over biometric authentication.
If you’re more anxious than most, especially concerning the safety of your jailbroken thousand-dollar smartphone, then you might be interested in a newly-released jailbreak tweak called iCaughtU 12 by iOS developer Itay.
iCaughtU 12 is an iOS 12-compatible remake of one of the most popular anti-theft jailbreak tweaks ever devised, and as you might come to expect, it provides many of the features that users have come to know and love since the original classic launched several years ago.
One of the most exciting parts of owning a jailbroken iPhone or iPad is having the freedom to customize the handset’s look and feel outside the realm of Apple’s stock parameters and disturb the monotony exhibited by most iOS devices. If you agree, then you might take a liking to a new free jailbreak tweak called NudePassScreen by iOS developer Kiran Patil.
As you might have discerned from the screenshot examples above, NudePassScreen empowers the user to colorize their handset’s passcode entry interface with virtually any color scheme they want, helping them to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Whether you’re always paranoid about someone stealing your iPhone when you set it down on a table somewhere in public or you’ve just got lousy friends that like to play pranks on you, a jailbreak tweak called No2Theft2 by iOS developer Elias Sfeir promises to let you know whenever someone tries to be nefarious with your handset.
After you’ve installed and configured No2Theft2, you can rest assured that if someone’s doing something fishy with your iPhone behind your back, you’ll know about it. The tweak uses several methods to notify you whenever someone picks up your handset and enters the passcode incorrectly.
Most people use passcodes to protect their handsets from unwanted users for privacy reasons. Although modern handsets incorporate some form of biometric authentication in place of the passcode, whether that’s Face ID or Touch ID, your device still uses a passcode as a backup for when either of those stops working.
But while your passcode can keep your handset’s data safe in high-risk areas, it’s also true that some places (such as your home) pose little or no risk. That’s why iOS developers Luke Muris and Geometric Software released a new jailbreak tweak dubbed IntelligentPass 2.
I’ve used a lot of jailbreak tweaks in my day, but some of my all-time favorites were those that brought the classic Android-style matrix/pattern Lock screen interface to the iOS platform.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen one of these classic tweaks optimized for each of Apple’s latest handsets and mobile operating systems, but one that does is a release called LockDroid by iOS developer Julio Verne.
I use Face ID and/or Touch ID so often these days that I’ve all but forgotten what it’s like to need to enter a passcode manually. Still, iOS occasionally asks for it, such as after rebooting your handset and following a multi-day timeout period. That said, you'll still stumble upon the passcode entry screen at one point or another.
And that brings me to my next point; if you’re jailbroken, then you might want to customize the look and feel of your passcode entry screen. Fortunately, there’s a new jailbreak tweak in town that will let you do that.
You can hide images from the Camera Roll in iOS’ native Photos app to prevent them from appearing in your image list, but hidden images are quickly discovered by prying eyes when someone holding your iPhone opens the “Hidden” album in the Photos app.
If you wish Apple took better care of your Hidden images, then you might enjoy a new free jailbreak tweak called HiddenAlbumLock by iOS developer smokin1337. Just as the name implies, this tweak locks the Hidden album and requires authentication to unlock it for viewing.
It looks like Apple might have finally gained the upper hand in its long-running battle with Atlanta, Georgia-based GrayShift, at least for now. Forbes reports the company's passcode hacking technology known as GrayKey doesn't work on devices with iOS 12 or later installed. Instead, members of the forensics community say the technology can only do a "partial extraction" on these devices.
At Apple’s September 12th event, the Cupertino-based company unveiled its new iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max handsets with a bevy of hardware upgrades from their predecessor, the iPhone X.
One of the significant leaps comes by way of faster and more secure Face ID authentication, the process of which has been sped up with improved algorithms and a zippier secure enclave.
Privacy and security are essential for most smartphone users, and that’s why Apple offers some of the best alphanumeric and biometric security measures in the industry. That aside, you don’t always need your smartphone to be secured like Fort Knox, and that’s where a new jailbreak tweak called IntelligentPass by iOS developer Luke Muris comes in handy.
Just as the name implies, IntelligentPass intelligently regulates your iPhone’s passcode (or another authentication method, such as Face ID or Touch ID) so that your handset only asks for it in specific user-configurable scenarios.
If you worry about your privacy more than most, then you might want to go beyond a simple passcode to protect your iPhone’s valuable data. Fortunately, a new jailbreak tweak called BioProtect X (iOS 11) by iOS developer Limneos can help.
As the name implies, BioProtect X can protect apps and other important things on your device. The tweak supports various security measures for doing so, including Face ID, Touch ID, or a traditional passcode.