Jay Ryan Freeman (born November 27, 1981) is an American businessman and software engineer. He is known for creating the

Cydia Cydia is a graphical user interface of APT for iOS. It enables a user to find and install software unauthorized by Apple on jailbroken iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices. It also refers to the digital distribution platform for software on ...

software application and related software for jailbroken iOS—a modified version of

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

(where OS stands for operating system) that allows for the installation and customization of software outside of the regulation imposed by the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

system.

Education and early work

Freeman studied and graduated with a degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

from the

College of Creative Studies The College of Creative Studies (CCS) is the smallest of the three Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges at the University of California, Santa Barbara, unique within the University of California system in terms of structure and phi ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

. In 2009, he was a doctoral student in computer science at UCSB. He built Anakrino, a

decompiler A decompiler is a computer program that translates an executable file back into high-level source code. Unlike a compiler, which converts high-level code into machine code, a decompiler performs the reverse process. While disassemblers translate e ...

for

.NET The .NET platform (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a free and open-source, managed code, managed computer software framework for Microsoft Windows, Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems. The project is mainly developed by Microsoft emplo ...

available in 2002. He co-authored a paper published in 2005 about a "

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

runtime event specification and monitoring library." He has worked with Brian Fox on multiple freelance projects.

Software

iOS

In February 2008, Freeman released the initial version of Cydia, a software distribution and installation tool for jailbroken iOS devices. In May 2009, he added a proprietary store system to Cydia which allows developers to sell their products. In September 2010, his company (SaurikIT, LLC) announced that it had acquired Rock Your Phone, Inc. (makers of Rock.app). SaurikIT and Rock Your Phone were the two largest providers of third-party apps. He has published tools for developers to make software, particularly for jailbroken iOS. He made Cydia Substrate, a framework that developers use to help them modify iOS with extensions. He also made Cycript, a tool that developers use to inspect and modify applications on iOS and OS X. He has developed a plethora of software extensions for jailbroken iOS users to add features to iOS, including Apple File Conduit 2, Cycorder, CyDialer, Cydget, Cyntact, Cyueue, Five Icon Dock, Veency, and WinterBoard. He has also released Cydia Eraser (previously named Cydia Impactor, but was renamed to avoid confusion) for jailbroken iOS, a tool for removing personal data and "unjailbreaking" the device while preserving the iOS version. He is also a member of the iPhone Dev Team group, which has developed jailbreaks for iOS.

Android

Freeman has also done software development and security research on the Android OS. In 2008, he

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...

Debian Debian () is a free and open-source software, free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kerne ...

for use on an Android phone. In April 2013, he built an implementation of a root (jailbreak) for

Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a discontinued brand of smart glasses developed by Google's X Development (formerly Google X), with a mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-u ...

and published an analysis of the ramifications. In May 2013, he published a version of Cydia Substrate for Android. In July 2013, he published an analysis and implementation of "Master Key" vulnerabilities for Android.

Politics

Freeman supported incorporation of

Isla Vista, California Isla Vista ( ; , "Island View") is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California, in the United States. As of 2020 census, the community had a population of 15,500. For statistical purposes, ...

(the community adjoining

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joine ...

). In January 2016, he announced his candidacy for the

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a County (United States), county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, California ...

, and in June 2016 he lost in the primary election for that role. He then ran for a four-year seat on the board of directors for the Isla Vista Community Services District and was elected in November 2016. As of 2019, Freeman is also a Special District member of the Santa Barbara County

Local Agency Formation Commission Local Agency Formation Commissions or LAFCOs are regional service planning agencies of the State of California. LAFCOs are located in all 58 counties and exercise regulatory and planning powers in step with their prescribed directive to oversee t ...

and a member of the Goleta Library Advisory Commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Jay American computer scientists IPhone Living people 1981 births Scientists from Chicago People from Isla Vista, California Candidates in the 2016 United States elections