Virus protection for the iPhone: useful or unnecessary?

Virus-free apps on iPhone - is iOS safe?

The operating system of your iDevice is fundamentally protected against viruses. The closed environment with its hidden file system makes it much more difficult for hackers to place a virus there compared to a Windows PC or Android smartphone.
In addition, you only load your apps from the app store. Apple checks every software carefully. New programs are only released for use if everything is in order.
Unlike Windows and Android, with iOS you don't have to be afraid of viruses and other pests that damage your system or render it unusable.
However, your data is not always in a safe place even under iOS. Most recently, a major security vulnerability was discovered in iOS in 2019 that gave hackers access to a wide range of sensitive data, such as contact data and WhatsApp chats.

Manipulate the system by jailbreaking, open the door to your smartphone for hackers.

The file system is open here and is particularly susceptible to malicious attacks. You can find out what a jailbreak is and what you should know about it in the video below.
By modifying your operating system, you not only unlock blocked functions. You can also install software that is not from the app store. It is unclear whether these files are safe. Pests are easy to play.
In the past, for example, the "TinyV" trojan has made it onto numerous iOS devices. Many users use the jailbreak to download game apps for free. A well-known paid game was offered illegally in the "Cydia" jailbreak store and was additionally provided with a Trojan.
The NSA has also used the "Pegasus" tool to access several iPhones. This was also only possible thanks to a jailbreak. However, the method was extremely complex and is no longer applicable today.

If you search for anti-virus apps in the App Store, you will hardly find anything. Apple's iOS operating system is locked in such a way that only checked content has access. According to the current status, the danger from a virus is not realistic.
Virus protection is therefore not required. To convey this picture, Apple no longer offers any anti-virus apps. Applications like Avira Antivirus and Virus Barrier were removed from the store after a short time. They weren't really useful under iOS anyway.
It looks different after installing a jailbreak. The jailbreak is supposed to open this closedness of iOS. Although this makes the system individually configurable, it is also much less secure.