Cost of App Store Piracy Pegged at $450 Million

[Bregalad]

Shockingly high rate

Are there really that many jailbroken phones out there? I know about 40 iPhone owners and only one of them has jailbroken it.

Outside China and Russia are more than 5% of phones jailbroken? I doubt it. And I bet the hacking rate on the iPod touch is negligible.

That means either piracy is nowhere near as bad as reported or the pirates are voracious downloaders who spend hours acquiring hundreds of apps they'll likely never run. Can't see how there are more than a handful of real lost sales in that environment.

 

[ironman159]

I understand that iPhone piracy is theoretically possible, but how can they possibly suggest that 75% of all apps in circulation are on the devices of users who are savvy enough to figure out how to do it?! That's simply absurd. You can't simply download an iPhone app like you would download a copy of Windows or Photoshop. The authors of this report obviously don't know that.

Actually I read somewhere how to do it and its pretty easy once you have your device jailbroken. Anyway, I know the real solution that maybe end this thing. Like music, apps (most of those apps GAMES) aren't released in every country's App Store (ex. Costa Rica) so people who buy iPods touch in that country with the idea of downloading games are left with no other option than jailbreak, because its the only way to get them.

 

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Three pirated for each purchased? That number seems like total nonsense. If I can see it with anything it would be apps like Wolfram Alpha, which people might pirate just to see what the heck it is, while so many would never consider paying the high price point for the tool, or would choose to use the online version rather than pay up.

That, and I imagine there are nowhere near enough jailbroken phones out there to constitute this sort of number, nor are all people with jailbroken phones doing this.

On a related note, one thing I do know people download pirated apps for is to get a real trial. More than half the apps I've purchased, despite being careful, were not used very long at all (and in some cases deleted on the same day). I would have loved to enjoy some trials. And I doubt all the people downloading pirated apps want the long-term headache of managing them.

Finally, only a fraction of the people downloading a pirated app would have actually paid for it anyway. Converting that directly into a figure of 'revenue lost' is utter nonsense.

 

[Gauthic]

I wonder how many of those are legitimate redownloads of deleted software due to memory constraints....

 

[JPark]

Like 99 cents? If you can afford an iphone and data plan, then you can afford to buy apps. A lot of pirates hoard apps that they never use.

Hence the smiley face at the end of his post.

 

[ChazUK]

heres what apple needs to do apple needs to develop a demo system for EVERY Paid app if Apple did that I think you would have alot less Piracy. People complain theres to much crap in the store wich they got a case if people downloaded the demo then decided they dont like it I think it would be alot beter people wont have to pirate etc.

It's a lovely thought but I think they will pirate apps regardless. Android Market has a 24 hour refund process but piracy is still a problem on the platform.

There will always be an excuse with pirates.

 

[Beric]

Those numbers look like they just came out of thin air. I'd like to see where they really came from.

Regardless, the piracy looks like it's pretty rampant. But on $1-5 apps? Really?I'm guessing it's more iPod Touch piracy though, for people who just barely got onto the OS, and couldn't afford the apps, meaning younger users who are willing to mess with technology to get it to work.

 

[jmmo20]

What puzzles me is that Apple has done NOTHING to stop app piracy itself, such as changhing the DRM like they'd done lots of time when the itunes music had drm.

All effort is put towards stopping jailbreaking.
Jailbreaking actually gives them more money.

For example now that I have a jailbroken iphone I would never buy an hypotetical iPhone 4G until it was jailbreakable. I cannot live with a non-jb iphone. JB improves the iphone. The user that says it breaks the security model for malware doesn't know what they are talking about. Yes, installing certain apps could damage your iphone but you gotta know what you using, and besides this last warning with the SSH issue in Australia made developers more aware and careful about security. JB improves apple products for those of us who are not mere "plain customers" but rather tech savvy.


Instead of changing iboot chips, releasing firmwares that break jailbraking, they should be putting all their effort at stopping app piracy itself.

Saying Jailbreaking promotes piracy is like saying that in a Mac, if you use the "full Finder" rather than the "limited Finder" you're actually promoting Mac apps piracy becuase the user can download and install cracked DMG files.

 

[HaXoR7Om]

I'm so against the piracy because I am myself a developer.

Although I've always been against the piracy. Urging friends to buy their music etc. etc.

I just don't buy the argument of "I can't afford it" or "It's not worth it to me" because I feel the same way about literally billions of things. And instead of just stealing them I just don't use/obtain them.

I won't lash out at anyone, I just don't get how stealing became so generally accepted over such a short amount of time.

We're not endorsing piracy lolz we're just speculating as to why people would do it e.g the expense. I know how you feel and I to would be angry if someone stole one of my applications after I had spent ages coding it.

 

[Stella]

I have analytics in my app and I can confirm that I am getting 2.8 pirated versions to each 1 sold on the App Store.

How can you detect a pirated app vs paid for app?

 

[JPark]

Lies, damned lies, and... what was that third one again?

 

[Westside guy]

I think stealing apps is wrong, just like downloading movies or music illegally is wrong.

Having said that - these sorts of stories are silly, and in my opinion have very little to do with reality. Those people I know that steal stuff (movies and music anyway - don't know any app thieves) seem to have very little interest in buying anything - it generally seems to be more of a geek "look at my giant media library I'm so 1337 and you suxorz bwahahaha..." thing. The solutions that get proposed to address this "problem" end up making life harder for guys like me that try to do the right thing - it doesn't perceptibly impact the folks doing the stealing.

 

[nickXedge]

I'm so against the piracy because I am myself a developer.

Although I've always been against the piracy. Urging friends to buy their music etc. etc.

I just don't buy the argument of "I can't afford it" or "It's not worth it to me" because I feel the same way about literally billions of things. And instead of just stealing them I just don't use/obtain them.

I won't lash out at anyone, I just don't get how stealing became so generally accepted over such a short amount of time.

I don't disagree with anything you say at all. I'm right there with you 100%. I just don't think people here are saying they feel that way, they are just explaining the pirate point of view and helping to explain how this happens to people like me who didn't realize this was even possible, let alone an issue. I stopped pirating music when Napster got in trouble, I literally didn't know it was wrong until then. I was about 12 at the time, so I didn't really know better, this was all new to me. I stopped downloading music altogether then and when I could afford an iPod some years later, I started using iTunes and have been ever since. When I can't afford something, I live without it just as you do.

 

[Swift]

Question.

Is this what the googlephone fans mean by "open" and get so mad at Apple for? You mean, it's not about AT&T and iTunes, and it's just about their desire to pirate apps? Most of which are free?

 

[Neerazan]

Fud

Figures from the article itself (excuse my not cutting and pasting with quotes)

75 million iPhones and iPod Touches sold.
10% of those are jailbroken.
40% of jailbroken devices have pirated software.
A little over 1.5 billion paid apps have been pirated.

And now for some maths...

10% of 75m = 7.5m

40% of 7.5m = 3m

1,500m (thats 1.5 billion in old money) / 3m pirates = 500 paid apps per device.

500 paid apps (on average, some people will have one or two, suggesting some might have heading towards a thousand)?

Sorry, but that sounds ridiculous.

Hence I call FUD and ask that this whole thing gets buried on page 2

 

[BJMRamage]

I never even thought of pirated Apps...though I don't have an iPhone either.

or are they talking about Pirate Apps like Pirate-Translators and Plank-walking GPS?

 

[HiRez]

This is a bad article because it doesn't even address how such a thing could even happen. I thought the whole point of funneling the apps through the store was to prevent piracy (and make sure Apple gets paid, obviously). Weird.

 

[nickXedge]

I never even thought of pirated Apps...though I don't have an iPhone either.

or are they talking about Pirate Apps like Pirate-Translators and Plank-walking GPS?

Ahhhh nice job.

 

[ChazUK]

Is this what the googlephone fans mean by "open" and get so mad at Apple for? You mean, it's not about AT&T and iTunes, and it's just about their desire to pirate apps? Most of which are free?

No, it's got nothing to do with stealing software. My vision of open is this: http://source.android.com/

 

[ipoppy]

I think Apple needs to work with carriers to offer unlocking without a jailbreak and also start banning IMEI's of jailbroken phones found to be running pirated apps.

It wont help. Jailbrake allows people to use 3G instead wifi for many applications and thats the main reason. The second reason is changing the carrier but here in UK its not the case any longer and it won't be in US soon enough.
...and honestly I have no clue how they will find out what apps I got on my iPhone. Despite all speculations its not possible to locate such iphone

 

[mspy]

I am surprised that so many people did not know about pirated apps. It can be a big problem for developers who have apps with push notification since a server is required to make that feature work. The more users I have the greater my costs. If those users did not pay for the app it hurts me.

It's twice as bad for me since my server also monitors the weather for my users, legitimate and pirated. Windowcast and TopDown

I understand the argument that pirates would not have bought the app to begin with but in my case each pirated copy of my app it taking money away from me. Instead of being a "lost" sale it eats into my proceeds.

 

[tatonka]

What a load of Hogwash .. !

The estimate on the number of pirated apps may acutally be true. The estimate on the loss is almost certainly not. 1 in 10 would buy it .. child please.

I agree however with what was said earlier .. it is also about the money spent to keep servers alive which are being used by pirates. But it is up to the developers to stop that .. apparently detecting piracy is possible .. so why not have it break the connection.

T.

 

[DTphonehome]

It wont help. Jailbrake allows people to use 3G instead wifi for many applications and thats the main reason. The second reason is changing the carrier but here in UK its not the case any longer and it won't be in US soon enough.
...and honestly I have no clue how they will find out what apps I got on my iPhone. Despite all speculations its not possible to locate such iphone

I myself can't live without backgrounder and QuickReply! And the unlock will come in handy next time I'm overseas. I have zero interest in pirating, however. If I want a program, I'll buy it. It's really not that expensive.

I am surprised that so many people did not know about pirated apps. It can be a big problem for developers who have apps with push notification since a server is required to make that feature work. The more users I have the greater my costs. If those users did not pay for the app it hurts me.

It's twice as bad for me since my server also monitors the weather for my users, legitimate and pirated.

I understand the argument that pirates would not have bought the app to begin with but in my case each pirated copy of my app it taking money away from me. Instead of being a "lost" sale it eats into my proceeds.

Isn't there any way to deny service to pirated copies?

 

[macgreiner]

75% - what rubbish. All conjecture and no empirical metrics.

 

[aristotle]

They come in different prices one of the most expensive being $900

Yes and those that cost hundreds of dollars are priced that way because they serve a niche. If a member of the niche pirates a copy and uses the app frequently, that lost sale costs the developer a lot more than the piracy of 99 cent apps.