The guys over at App Advice got to talk with Dissident, the creator of the infamous cracked app store AppTrackr. In this candid but revealing chat, Dissident shared some interesting numbers about iPhone app piracy.
According to Dissident, Installous, the app used to download these cracked applications is installed on 4 million iPhones, which represents about 4% of all iOS devices in the world. That's insane, isn't it?
Last week we reported about the logic behind iPhone app piracy. Dissident holds the same kind of speech. Here are some of the excerpts from his interview:
I know for a fact that a good share of our users trial applications, and that’s the only reason I continue to work for the community. A very, very considerable portion of our users do so. The user should be able to have a risk-free trial of the application. The user should not have to purchase the application for any amount of money. The user should be given ample time for testing. This trial system should be available for all applications. Developers can be given some flexibility on a per-app basis, but abuse cannot be tolerated and the policy cannot be too lenient.
I do agree that Apple should let people try out applications for a period of 24 hours. I however doubt the honesty of Dissident when he claims his service's sole goal is to help people try applications out.
Apple can work around the edges to either please us or displease us, and that’s really all it comes down to. Indeed, our services will no longer be required if Apple implements such a system.
I don't believe one word of that.
What about you? What do you think about app piracy? Do you download cracked apps? Do you do so because you want to be able to try applications before buying them?
[9 to 5 Mac]