Jailbreaking your iPhone means freeing it from the restrictions placed on it by the manufacturer (Apple) and carriers (such as AT&T, Verizon, and others). After jailbreaking, the device can do things it couldn’t do before, such as install unofficial apps and change settings and parts of the phone that were previously restricted.

Jailbreaking works by installing a software application on your computer and then having it transmit certain instructions to the phone, essentially cracking open the file system. A jailbreak comes with a set of tools that allow you to change what otherwise would be unchangeable.

Jailbreaking allows you to do everything from modify the look of your iPhone to install third-party applications, titles that are not authorized and available in the App Store. A third-party app can add functionality to your phone that you would otherwise never see through the App Store.

By default, app developers on a non-jailbroken iPhone are not allowed to modify certain parts of the operating system. However, when the operating system is fully open to developers working on jailbroken apps, you can find apps that can redesign default apps like Messages, add widgets to the lock screen, and more.