To remove an operating system's restrictions on any computing device but most often on smartphones. For example, jailbreaking may enable content with digital rights to be used, or it may allow uncertified applications to be run. While jailbreaking is the term typically used for Apple devices, "rooting" is the equivalent in the Android world (see
iPhone jailbreaking,
RT jailbreaking and
Android rooting).
The act of jailbreaking is not a uniform process. Sometimes a single application jailbreaks the system, while other times a series of commands, button pressing and reboots is required. Jailbreaking may refer to unlocking a GSM iPhone in order to use it with a different carrier. However, one has to jailbreak the phone first before unlocking it (see
SIM lock). "Unjailbreaking" and "unrooting" mean restoring factory defaults. See
DRM and
walled garden.