Apple has quietly dropped a jailbreak detection API from the latest iOS 4.2 update. This feature was only introduced six month ago. It is somewhat puzzling that Apple would choose to remove this feature from the iOS so soon after introducing it to the platform. Apple and the jailbreak community have been playing a game of cat and mouse ever since the App Store was first introduced in 2008.
The jailbreak detection API is part of Apple’s mobile device management (MDM) API that was released back in June with the introduction of iOS 4.0. The detection API works by asking the operating system if it has been compromised in any way. Jailbreaks usually change operating system files to gain access to the iOS, so that users can install non-approved apps. Apple routinely issues updates to circumvent these exploits requiring jailbreak developers to find new ways of gaining access to the iOS.