When it comes to the iPhone, Apple only wants users to use applications that the company approves and purchase from their App Store. But as everyone knows, not everyone obeys Apple’s wants, and thus jailbreaks their iOS smartphone in order to install some unapproved apps, usually downloaded from Apple’s rival app store, Cydia. Naturally Apple doesn’t want their users jailbreaking the iPhone, but that hasn’t stopped many users from doing so.
Apple is constantly trying to block jailbreaking of their devices by updating iOS, and usually a jailbreak comes out soon after an update so those iOS unfaithful can continue to use unauthorised apps. We have one such app for jailbroken iPhones from Cydia today that you might be interested in called iGotYa.
The iGotYa app will help protect your iOS device from being stolen by snapping a picture of the face of whomever tries to steal your precious iPhone, so that if your handset is stolen you’ll at least have a snapshot of the possible thief to show the law.
The iGotYa app for jailbroken iPhone handsets doesn’t only snap a criminals face though as the app also gets you the location of your iPhone, so you receive an email that includes the location of the device and a photo of who took it. The application also has the ability to lock access to your iPhone so the thief can’t access your data.
The app made by iGotYa.com has proven its worth on at least a couple of occasions, with a Chinese woman who lost her iPhone in a Beijing taxi for example, and received an email of a photograph of the taxi driver, and was thus able to recover her lost smartphone.
Then there was another woman who had her iPhone 4 stolen from her pocket by a pickpocket whilst unbeknownst to the thief, the iPhone had the iGotYa app installed, and when the crook entered an incorrect passcode, the app snapped his face and shot off an email to the owner that she then turned over to the cops. This incident happened some time ago, but does show this app does indeed work (video below).
For those that have jailbroken their iPhone and would like to take advantage of what the iGotYa app has to offer, the app has been available for quite some time and can be downloaded from Cydia on a free 10-day trail basis with no obligation to purchase.
Any of our readers use the iGotYa app on their jailbroken iPhone?