Rooting and Jailbreaking are related in that they both achieve extended authority on a mobile device. However, rooting is associated with mobile devices running Android operating system, while Jailbreaking is a term used for Apple OS.
Both these can pose a serious security risk as the device can be used to open an unauthorized backdoor to a data network, be used for spreading malware or to instigate hacker attacks.
Rooting
is the process of allowing users to attain privileged control (commonly known as root access) over various Android subsystems. Rooting an Android device is similar to gain administrative permissions (aka “superuser”) on operating systems such as Linux, Unix and MacOS.
Rooting is often done to overcome limitations that mobile operators and hardware manufacturers put on some devices. It allows the user to alter or replace system applications and settings, run specialized applications that require administrator-level permissions or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android user.
While rooting allows a user to change and personalize the device to his/her liking, turbocharge the device and remove unwanted apps, it also opens up for unauthorized applications that run with administrative privileges.
Rooting can often be done by exploiting one or more security bugs in the firmware. It is therefore important to keep the device updated, as these devices are constantly updated to close backdoors.
Jailbreaking
is specific to the Apple OS family (iOS, iPadOS, TVOS etc) and is the process of bypassing several types of Apple prohibitions for the end user. Since it includes modifying the operating system and installing non-officially approved (i.e. not available on the App Store) applications via “sideloading” (installing an app direct over USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi, usually through the use of a specialized computer program). Jailbreaking also grants the user elevated administration-level privileges (like rooting), but the two concepts are different.
Rooting and Jailbreaking are similar in that both are used to grant the owner of the device superuser system-level privileges, which may be transferred to one or more apps. Android rooting is more extensive and also provides owners the capability to modify or even replace the full operating system, something that is not possible to do on an Apple OS device.