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Latest iOS jailbreak dubbed the most popular ever

The big, new jailbreaking tool for iOS devices -- including the iPhone 5 -- has been used by nearly 7 million people.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
2 min read
Jason Cipriani/CNET

Just days after its release, one of the most high-profile iOS jailbreaks turns out to be the fastest to be adopted too.

Evasi0n, which gives iPhone, iPod, and iPad owners deeper access to the software on their devices than Apple allows, has been downloaded and used by nearly 7 million people since its release on Monday, Forbes reports.

To put that figure in perspective, Apple last month said that it had sold more than 500 million iOS devices cumulatively, and that 300 million of those were running iOS 6 -- its latest major release.

The 7 million tally comes from the maker of Cydia, the app that quickly became the unofficial official third-party software repository for jailbroken devices. Like Apple's own App Store, the app (which is typically installed in the process of jailbreaking) lets people search and discover new software and other system tweaks that can be installed on top of Apple's own software. However unlike Apple's system, Cydia does not need to adhere to a strict set of guidelines for what can be offered.

Evasi0n's arrival earlier this week was noteworthy for being able to jailbreak the most recent version of Apple's iOS 6 software, something that had already been accomplished, but came with numerous caveats. Evasi0n also worked with newer iOS devices, including the iPhone 5, which up until then proved to be a tough nut to crack.

Apple is, of course, expected to eventually fix some of the exploits Evasi0n is using to jailbreak the company's devices. However an initial beta version of its iOS 6.1.1 software, which was released after the jailbreaking tool, reportedly does not contain such a remedy. In the meantime, Apple has put up an updated warning, recommending that users not jailbreak their device at the risk of lowering battery life and causing both app and system instabilities.