Apple Censoring 'Jailbreak' in U.S. iTunes Store Listings [Update: Fixed]

Exploring an observation initially made by iOS hacker @planetbeing, Shoutpedia notes that Apple has mysteriously begun censoring the word "jailbreak" in the U.S. iTunes Store. While not all mentions of the word are affected, the vast majority of them across all content types are currently being censored to "j*******k".

thin lizzy jailbreak censor
Apple has long objected to the jailbreaking process, which opens up iOS devices for installation of apps from non-Apple approved sources and other system tweaks. But it is unclear what the company is trying to achieve with its iTunes Store censoring, which affects such content as Thin Lizzy's song and album of that name and an episode of the The Roy Rogers Show from the early 1950s.

roy rogers real world jailbreak censored
The censoring appears to only affect the U.S. iTunes Store at the present time, but it has been in effect for over eight hours now.

Update: The censoring appears to be inadvertent. Searches for 'jailbreak' on the Apple Store now return results without any asterisks.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

Sky Blue Avatar
159 months ago
Wow. That's pretty ridiculous. Will they censor the word android next?
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AustinIllini Avatar
159 months ago


"Jailbreak doesn't even belong!"
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
buddda Avatar
159 months ago
This is going to garner some sweet free publicity for Thin Lizzy!
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tones2 Avatar
159 months ago
My guess is that they probably meant to limit this is APPS but inadvertently applied the censor to music as well. Now I'm wondering about movies and TV.

Tony
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HarryKeogh Avatar
159 months ago
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that executives at Apple did not sit around a table and say "let's remove every instance of the word "jailbreak" from the Apple store including classic songs because that makes perfect sense to do" but instead they didn't want it to appear in any instance like a tutorial podcast or app that might show someone how to jailbreak and it censored more than what was intended.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Amazing Iceman Avatar
159 months ago
Here we go, a little Apple non-sense, and just before brunch...

So, is it now 'J*******k You!' going to replace :'[F word] You!' ?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)