In recent years, there has been a trend in the company's App Store to reduce the number of customized antivirus programs. This is all due to the fact that the closed operating system of the iPhone – iOS – does not allow any applications to interfere with the operation of the system. Therefore, the use of an antivirus seems to be unnecessary. But stored content (in the same cloud) can be potentially dangerous for your other devices: a computer, tablet or smartphone of another brand. And in this case, it’s better to play it safe, as they say.
Is the defense under control?
The small set of antivirus applications in the company store and their low functionality are partly a kind of message from the manufacturer: “The iPhone does not need additional protection!”
If you do not expose your smartphone no software “upgrades”, with a 98% probability you should not be afraid of catching a virus. The user has virtually no influence on the operation of the system, and this is for the better. By downloading the necessary applications from verified, approved sources, you further increase the level of security. Fortunately, the manufacturer has its own Internet resource, containing a lot of different programs adapted to the special requirements of iOS. 
Apple, like no one else, monitors the quality of content in its virtual store, and imposes very strict requirements on developers. In a sense, being included in iTunes product lists is prestigious for development companies. Therefore, new versions of most programs are primarily written for iPhones.
As various vulnerabilities are identified that attackers can use as loopholes to gain access to the system, Apple programmers quickly release updates that stop all potential threats. No competing platform can boast such a quick response to fix system bugs. It is clear that each time the system is further strengthened against possible targeted virus attacks. This is partly why you pay such a high price, and it is stupid to voluntarily give up such a significant advantage for the sake of installing a couple of third-party applications. Maximum protection against hacking is the strong point of the company’s smartphones.
If you have jailbroken your iPhone, consider that the powerful protection mentioned is automatically neutralized.
No one will give you a guarantee that there are no virus fragments in both the hacking program itself and the applications you download later from third-party resources. Also, you will not be able to update the system until “hacked” jailbreak versions are released, which may contain a malicious script that steals user passwords or personal data. You will probably have to install antivirus software on such “modified” iPhones, since the risk of infection increases many times over.
Is there any benefit?
In essence, any modern antivirus on iPhones has more of an administrative function, filtering spam and hidden advertising. But it is not known what awaits gadgets next? And if it is not particularly needed now, then the appearance last year of user complaints about account hacking is already an alarm bell. Since super-secure company servers are being hacked, what can we say about ordinary account owners. So perhaps, soon, everyone will have to install an antivirus on their phone, even on something as secure as an iPhone. In addition, we all, without knowing it, go to potentially malicious sites, and sometimes simply visiting them is enough for an “uninvited guest” to settle in some registry in order to subsequently block access to the owner’s accounts or cause other harm.
Still, many antivirus applications are very useful, and not only as virus detectors. For example, with their help you can quickly find out whether the proposed used model has been jailbroken. Also, in case of loss (theft), you can remotely trigger an alarm siren or signal the smartphone camera so that it quietly takes a photo of the fraudster and sends it to the owner. This way the chances of finding the loss are much higher. The antivirus helps block data so that thieves do not gain access to it, regularly creates backup copies of user information, notifies about unauthorized access attempts, and much more.
In fairness, it is worth noting that some antivirus applications still remain in the App Store. Among them: AviraMobileSecurity, NortonMobileSecurity, McAfeeMobileSecurity, Lookout - Backup - they help to find a lost iPhone, create copies and block data, Dr.Web Mobile Control Center - allows you to administer an anti-virus network, AVG PrivacyFix - an excellent option for secure viewing of social networks. Some of them provide safe web browsing - they exclude from the search list and block any sites that are unpleasant for the user; you just need to install a certain filter. For example, KasperskySafeBrowser works on this principle. 
Trial versions of these programs are often free. At the end of the trial period, the user can either purchase the full version, with the maximum range of functions, or continue to use the free version, with a limited number of features.
At the moment, antivirus is really not needed on iPhones. And the capabilities that programs from third-party developers provide can be found in the built-in resources of the smartphone. So if you are not a hacker (or a geek) and the functions that the manufacturer has included in the phone are enough for you, refrain from using antiviruses, currently they are still ineffective (even due to artificial restrictions on access to iOS). iPhones are self-sufficient – that’s their beauty.
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