Newer users to the iOS ecosystem can be forgiven for not knowing anything about Cydia. But a new legal battle means you may be hearing a lot more about it in the future.
Cyydia was created by software developer Jay Freeman in the early days of the iPhone, before Apple had decided to launch its own App Store. It was a similar concept, but it was built around jailbreaking for adding third-party apps or features to your iPhone which had not been approved or created by Apple.
It hasn't been particularly popular among Apple users for years. But now, the makers of the Cydia app store are suing Apple for damaging their business.
A Brief History of Cydia and iPhone Jailbreaking
Jailbreaking is a privilege escalation which lets users remove software restrictions imposed on devices.
When the iPhone was more heavily locked-down in its infancy, many users took advantage of jailbreaking tools to expand what their iPhones could do. Nowadays, the presence of a third-party App Store and expanded iPhone functionality means the jailbreaking scene isn’t a particularly active one.
However, this week, the makers of jailbroken iOS app store Cydia filed a lawsuit against Apple.
The lawsuit, first reported by The Washington Post, claims that Apple used anti-competition tactics to essentially lock out Cydia. Specifically, Apple supposedly, "began coercing users to utilize no other iOS app distribution service but the App Store, coupling it closer and closer to the iPhone itself in order to crowd out all competition."
Cydia wants a jury trial to determine the issue. It’s also looking for monetary damages to be awarded. The paperwork filed against Apple said that, "This lawsuit seeks to open the markets for iOS app distribution and iOS app payment processing to those who wish to compete fairly with Apple, and to recover the enormous damages Apple caused."
Accusing Apple of Anti-Competitive Behavior
Cydia is just the latest in a series of names to claim that Apple exhibits anti-competitive behavior through its ownership of the App Store. A number of aggrieved developers---including Fortnite-maker Epic, Spotify, Tile, and others---have formed the Coalition for App Fairness to try and compel Apple to create a more "level playing field."
Epic is suing Apple after the company booted Epic from the App Store after Epic introduced a new way for players to buy Fortnite in-app purchases without giving Apple a cut of the money. Apple’s control of the App Store was one of the topics discussed at this summer’s Congressional antitrust hearing involving the CEOs of tech giants like Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet.
Apple has long argued against jailbreaking, not least because it can open devices up to potentially harmful software vulnerabilities.
Image Credit: Patrick Feller/Flickr