Do you jailbreak? Might want to watch your Snapchatting, then. The video messaging platform is starting to lock out users who uses Snapchat-related jailbreak tweaks to hack the core features of the service.
The move was first noted by Jeff Benjamin over at iDownloadBlog, who said he and other users of Snapchat-oriented jailbreak tweaks are being locked out of the service.
A prominent tweak that Snapchat seems to be looking for is Phantom. One of the more popular Snapchat tweaks on the Cydia app store for jailbreakers, Phantom allows users to spoof locations, save media (pretty much eliminating the core perk of the service), set custom notification sounds and more.
Benjamin notes that the lockout isn’t permanent. If you disable or uninstall your Snapchat-related tweaks, Snapchat is happy to let you back in. That said, it appears Snapchat’s tolerance for those willing to hack their devices to flout the company’s terms of service are at an end.
Of course, as with all things jailbreak, this is ultimately a game of cat-and-mouse. Expect Snapchat jailbreak tweak devs to figure out ways around the lockout, even as Snapchat introduces new methods of detecting jailbreak users. And so it goes, turtles all the way down.
Source: iDownloadBlog
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
12 responses to “Snapchat is starting to lock jailbreakers out of their accounts”
Maybe I’m old, but it’s Snapchat-who cares?
Snapchat is the primary way those under 25 communicate, and is the fastest growing original content sharing service in existence. So, yeah, bad news: you’re old.
Snapchat is pointless young or old, make a video that disapears?? Wtf just send the stupid video.
You’re missing the point entirely. People that send the media don’t want it to exist permanently. It’s only meant to be seen by those intended and then disappear.
snapchat has permantely locked my account. if you get the error ones I suggest deleting phantom until they come out with a solution.
So, someone (or even a group of people) slaves for months or longer to bring you a great app. You then hack the system and hack the app, because somehow you are entitled to get it for free??? What an effing loosers…
Snapchat is a free app…
Nothing is free
You are fucking dumb buddy
Aren’t you the intelligent one..
He’s right actually. Snapchat is going to compete with google for advertising. Snapchat’s goal is private communication, if there is an easy workaround, that dilutes the value of snapchat and thus the value per customer revenue stream.
Snapchat is great for govt. dissidents.