Recently, countless apps for TrollStore and the MacDirtyCow exploit have appeared that allow users to easily customize app icons on the home screen even without jailbreak on iOS 14.0-16.1.2. The latest such release is TrollBoard by iOS developer haxi0.
According to the developer, TrollBoard is a prototype in its current form and supports iOS versions 15.0-16.1.2 through the MacDirtyCow exploit. In the /r/jailbreak release message, the developer says that while it can be used as an alternative to the Cowabunga app, TrollBoard doesn’t offer an option to revert your app’s icons to the way they were, so there’s a hint of risk. associated with using it in its current form; a future v1.1 update may add a return feature.
On the project’s GitHub page, haxi0 describes how to use TrollBoard:
1) Launch the app to have TrollBoard create a folder for you. 2) Get the icon you want to change your app to, put it in /var/mobileTrollBoard via Santander or Filza 3) Make sure your icon is named according to your app’s bundle id; eg: com.apple.calculator.png for the Calculator app. 4) Go to TrollBoard and update the list of files. png. You can see your image there and click to apply it to see what it looks like.
TrollBoard currently only works with user apps and will require a reboot after application for the themed app icons to take effect.
Regarding the risk associated with using TrollBoard, the developers of rival platform Cowabunga have stated that because TrollBoard modifies system files, there is a potential for conflict with other tweak applications, making troubleshooting a nightmare scenario. Many of the sentiments seem to echo the Mugunghwa vs. TrollTools debate that raged between the two developers many months ago.
Developer TrollBoard has responded to some of these claims in the /r/jailbreak release thread, and it looks like future updates could make it even safer to use.
It will be interesting to see how TrollBoard develops as future releases come out. After all, the good thing about competition is that it motivates developers to create better apps than their competitors to attract users. With so many different app theming platforms available for non-jailbroken devices, there’s a lot more fun to be had on devices that don’t. Currently I don’t have a jailbreak.
TrollBoard is available to try out on the GitHub developer page.
Do you plan to try TrollBoard, or have comments about its safety prompted you to try something else, like Cowabunga? Let us know in the comments section below.