Soon after getting his hands on the Google Glass headset (Explorer Edition), hacker Jay Freeman took just two hours to jailbreak the device! The well-known hacker, ‘Saurik’, used a jailbreak for Android 4.0, developed by B1nary, to root the wearable computing device, giving him full access to the Android 4.0.4 operating system in which it runs on.
Freeman, who obtained the device via pre-ordering it at Google I/O last year, announced his success on Friday via Twitter. He tweeted: “#ifihadglass I would jailbreak it and modify the software (obviously). As Google actually sold me one; I did my part.”
In a phone interview with Forbes, he explained:
“It took me two hours while I was having dinner with friends at the time. The implementation from B1nary is for normal Android tablets and phones; I learned how it worked and then did the same thing on Glass… which was quite simple.”
He told Forbes he’s not sure what can be achieved by rooting the device, but is intrigued and intent on finding out. However, the lack of compatibility with his prescription specs make it difficult to view the screen for long periods of time. He said the hack may be a way for users to block Google’s access to the device, such as the ability to remote brick the headset if users violate Terms & Conditions. It could also be used, Freeman speculated, to store information locally on the headset or on a device linked via Bluetooth. This would prevent all of that juicy data finding its way to Google’s servers.
It’s interesting to wonder what Google’s response will be to the recent hacking on their brand new product, but surely they had to know something similar to this was coming.
