Overall, 2012 wasn’t a great year for fans of the Cydia store. A good chunk of the year was spent waiting for that elusive iOS 6 untethered jailbreak, which hasn’t arrived to date, and it was in 2012 that iOS users first started wondering whether there will ever be a new jailbreak. Fortunately, the pace of Cydia’s growth hasn’t seemed to slacken one bit, and new tweaks have been coming out just the way they always have. Apple paid a silent tribute to some of the best tweaks from last year by incorporating their features into iOS 6, but the tweaks that were released this year made sure that they took the game to the next level. Since some of the real gems might have slipped under your radar, here is a compilation of the best Cydia tweaks and apps that we covered in the in 2012.

Free

1. Universal Video Downloader (Lets you download any online video stream being played within any app)

2. SwipeBack (Adds a simple swipe gesture for going back one step within all iOS apps)

3. GO SMS (The famous Android messaging app came to the Cydia store this year with quick-reply notification pop-ups and beautiful themes)

4. iCleaner (Get some extra storage space on your iPhone by letting this app remove junk from the file system)

5. VSNotifications (Reads aloud entire notifications and speaks predefined text upon certain system actions)

6. 360MobileSafe (Privacy app with call blocking, anti-theft and network monitoring options)

7. SlyCam (A mini-camera within the Notification Center for covert photography)

8. Zeppelin (Use a logo of your choice in place of carrier name in the status bar)

9. NotiQuiet (Disables all notifications every time you are using select apps)

10. BrowserChooser (Set Chrome or any other iOS browser as your default choice for opening links from other apps)

11. MultiTunes (Never have your iPhone’s data wiped by iTunes accidentally ever again. This tweak makes sure you get to sync your device with as many iTunes libraries as you want.)

12. AccountChanger (Perfect for switching quickly between multiple Apple IDs in the App Store)

13. StatusBulletin (Convert banner notifications to ticker-like notifications that appear only within the status bar and show the complete content of each notification)

14. Sara (A complete Siri alternative for older iOS devices)

15. SiriToggles (Launch apps and toggle system options via Siri)

16. MusicGestures (Playback and navigation gestures for the stock Music app)

17. Overachiever (Instantly unlock all Game Center achievements for any game)

18. MissionBoard (Gesture-activated, graphical App Switcher)

19. Go Desk (Panoramic and interactive live wallpapers for iOS)

20. Custom NC Background (Set any image as the Notification Center’s backdrop)

21. Vuziq (Use any video from YouTube as a video ringtone of sorts for incoming calls)

22. SBUtility (Edit the appearance of folders, SpringBoard and icons)

23. IconRotator (Get landscape mode on the SpringBoard)

24. Plugication (Restarts music playback whenever earphones are plugged in after accidental disconnect)

25. Bars (Get a higher level of accuracy in the signal strength indicator)

26. DisableNC Switch (Prevents Notification Center from showing up while you are running full screen apps)

27. Lorem (Clear a single notification from the Notification Center rather than the whole group)

28. PersistentAssistant (With this tweak, you don’t have to hit the Siri button after each command and response)

29. Safari Download Enabler (Although this tweak is not a complete download manager for Safari, it does let users grab any file regardless of its format. The downloaded files can then be opened in iFile or with other compatible apps.)

30. SMS Stats (Tells you the total number of texts you have sent from your iPhone, and shows messaging stats for individual contacts)

31. AddNote (Quickly export text from anywhere to the stock Notes app)

32. Activoice (Launch Google Voice Search, Goggles and text search using any Activator gesture of your choice)

33. Pull to Dismiss (Quickly hide the keyboard with a simple gesture)

34. iSounds (Associate predefined or custom sounds with different system actions like system startup, app launch, etc.)

35. AppCent (View the exact download percentage of apps rather than relying on the progress bar)

36. Protect My Privacy (Whenever apps try to access your personal information, this tweak feeds them false information to protect your privacy)

Paid

1. Imperium (A beautiful App Switcher alternative with system toggles and app shortcuts)

2. Bridge (Add files to stock Music and Videos apps by downloading them directly from Mail or Safari; no need for iTunes or any other desktop tool)

3. CameraTweak (Add time-lapse, capture delay, independent focus and exposure, frame rate selection and several grid overlays in the stock Camera app)

4. AnyLock (Add app shortcuts and widgets to the lock screen)

5. Dashboard X (A platform for third-party lock screen and home screen widgets)

6. BrowseInApp (Opens external links in apps without navigating away to a browser)

7. Deck (Get a side bar filled with extra app shortcuts and system toggles on the home screen)

8. Attachments+ (Preview almost all major file types within the stock Mail app. The tweak also lets you attach files straight from iFile.)

9. Switchy (Doubles the height of App Switcher to accommodate more icons and system shortcuts)

10. Unlockize (Adds gorgeous unlocking animations to the lock screen)

11. AnimateAll (Set animated wallpapers as lock screen, home screen and/or Notification Center bacground)

12. Messages2PDF (Create a backup of all your SMS threads in the form of a PDF file that can be exported via email)

13. ImmediateSend (Tap on notification banners to reply to texts from anywhere without opening the stock Messages app)

14. Timer Options (Like Tasker for iOS; lets you schedule system actions and other tasks and can be toggled using Activator gestures)

We’re sure some of the features offered by these tweaks and apps will make their way to future updates of iOS, but there will always be something new that can be brought to the table by Cydia. Let’s just hope someone can come up with an untethered jailbreak exploit for one or more iOS 6-supported devices in the near future.

You might also want to check out our other end-of-year compilations:

150 Best Windows Apps Of 2012

35 Best Windows 8 Store Of 2012

100 Best Mac Apps Of 2012

150 Best Android Apps Of 2012

100 Best iOS Apps Of 2012

40 Best Windows Phone Apps Of 2012

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