Jailbreak specialist Evad3rs said it has cut off ties with the Chinese app store TaiG, following complaints that the latter was distributing pirated apps.
Evad3rs is one of the more popular jailbreaking groups and it have successfully launched a number of jailbreak applications. The group recently launched a working jailbreak application named Evasi0n7 for iOS devices running iOS 7.x.
Per reports, Evad3rs had received around $1 million to bundle the TaiG app store with its jailbreak application instead of the usual Cydia. However, Evad3rs has denied the claims that it received money for the deal.
"There have been a lot of rumors listing various amounts we've been paid. We have received no monies from any group, including Taig," said Evad3rs.
A number of users also reported that Taig was a source for pirated apps. "In the course of developing the iOS 7 jailbreak, we were approached by the company with an offer of partnership in offering Taig bundled with the jailbreak in China," said Evad3rs in an online statement.
However, "Preventing piracy is also extremely important to us. We are deeply sorry and embarrassed about the piracy that was seen today. All of us have spoken out vehemently against piracy in the past. We don't believe its right for developers not to get paid for their work," Evad3rs added.
Initially, Evad3rs tried working things out with TaiG to remove the pirated apps and "Taig will be pulled from the jailbreak if it cannot be resolved," Evad3rs said. However, TaiG failed to deal with the problem and escalating public attention forced Evad3rs to finally pull the plug on the partnership.
While jailbreaking has been touted as the best method to give users full control over their iOS devices, many users have used the method to install pirated apps. Jailbreaking voids the built-in signature verification process that allows the device to monitor apps. Once the signature verification process is bypassed, users can install pirated apps at will.
