Reality: Jailbreak/Rooting can be good for security
Since the user essentially needs to exploit their device to gain root access, why would they want to do this? In practice, Bluebox Labs has seen a variety of legitimate, non-nefarious reasons to jailbreak or root devices. Some of these include, but are not limited to:
Unlock the device from the carrier it is bound to
Either their contract is up, or they bought a carrier-locked phone
on the internet and they wish to move it to a different network provider
Remove bloatware that was pre-installed on the device
Android devices commonly come with a countless number of
manufacturer/carrier applications and add-ons that users see as bloatware
that take up memory and slow-down performance.
Patch major vulnerabilities that have not been patched yet by the vendor
Patching the vulnerability that made the rooting or jailbreaking possible
blocks malicious apps or users from exploiting it
Enhance the security of their device
Manage the root certificates
Manage the permissions granted to apps
Modify the look and feel of the software
Load a 3rd party ROM like Cyanogen on their device for enhanced functionality
Update a device that no longer receives updates from the manufacturer
(a common occurrence on Android and older iOS versions and devices)
HTC One Mini and One Mini 2 did not receive the update to Android Lollipop
iPhone 4 did not receive the update for iOS 8
Reality: Jailbreak/Rooting can be good for security
Since the user essentially needs to exploit their device to gain root access, why would they want to do this? In practice, Bluebox Labs has seen a variety of legitimate, non-nefarious reasons to jailbreak or root devices. Some of these include, but are not limited to: