一則最新報(bào)道顯示，蘋果應(yīng)用商店內(nèi)有一些小眾應(yīng)用，通過訂購和廣告可以獲得大量收入。

應(yīng)用開發(fā)商約翰尼·林上周對應(yīng)用商店進(jìn)行分析后，列出了收入最高的應(yīng)用。他的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，收入最高的應(yīng)用依舊是Dropbox和Evernote等大牌服務(wù)，但由知名度較低的開發(fā)者Ngan Vo Thi Thuy開發(fā)的一款相對小眾的應(yīng)用，在應(yīng)用商店收入最高的10款應(yīng)用中排在了第10位。據(jù)應(yīng)用跟蹤服務(wù)Sensor Tower表示，這款應(yīng)用名為“Mobile protection: Clean & Security VPN”，月收入8萬美元。

林對這款應(yīng)用被廣泛應(yīng)用的原因產(chǎn)生了好奇，因此對其進(jìn)行了一些研究和試用，并把研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在了Medium上。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，按他的話這款應(yīng)用采用了一種“奸詐的做法”，要求用戶分享他們的聯(lián)系人。繼續(xù)使用后，他發(fā)現(xiàn)這款應(yīng)用要求他支付99.99美元，訂購七天的病毒掃描服務(wù)。如果他同意訂購，每個(gè)月要支付400美元才能使用這款應(yīng)用的病毒掃描功能，而有許多iSO用戶似乎支付了這筆費(fèi)用。

目前，這款應(yīng)用仍可在應(yīng)用商店下載，在應(yīng)用描述中稱其是一款安全程序。但林注意到作為一款VPN或虛擬私人網(wǎng)絡(luò)，它還可以匯聚網(wǎng)絡(luò)流量。換言之，用戶通過這款應(yīng)用發(fā)送所有網(wǎng)絡(luò)流量。

這不見得是壞事，在應(yīng)用商店里，有許多更知名開發(fā)商開發(fā)的類似應(yīng)用，每周的價(jià)格低于100美元。另外值得注意的一點(diǎn)是，在撰寫本文時(shí)，這款應(yīng)用的用戶評級(jí)為三星半。有一些用戶說這款應(yīng)用讓iPhone手機(jī)“運(yùn)行更流暢”和“速度更快”。也有人“高度”推薦這款應(yīng)用。這些評價(jià)的真實(shí)性無從考證。

之后，對這款應(yīng)用持懷疑態(tài)度的林研究了它和其他類似程序如何吸引用戶和產(chǎn)生如此高的收入。他表示，這款應(yīng)用利用了蘋果的應(yīng)用商店搜索廣告，當(dāng)用戶搜索相關(guān)內(nèi)容時(shí)，這款應(yīng)用會(huì)出現(xiàn)在列表的前列。

林寫道：“事實(shí)證明，騙子們正在利用蘋果相對較新和不成熟的應(yīng)用商店搜索廣告產(chǎn)品。”他補(bǔ)充道：“廣告與真實(shí)搜索結(jié)果幾乎無法區(qū)分，有些搜索結(jié)果的第一頁全都是廣告。”

蘋果在去年的全球開發(fā)者大會(huì)上推出了搜索廣告產(chǎn)品。雖然廣告上明確標(biāo)注了藍(lán)色的“廣告”標(biāo)簽，但其設(shè)計(jì)與搜索結(jié)果中列出的應(yīng)用類似，可能導(dǎo)致用戶混淆。

蘋果并未對《財(cái)富》雜志的置評請求做出回應(yīng)。《財(cái)富》雜志未能聯(lián)系到Mobile protection: Clean & Security VPN的開發(fā)者，無法獲知其對此事的意見。

一直以來，蘋果都在宣傳其應(yīng)用商店中的應(yīng)用經(jīng)過了嚴(yán)格審查。提交到應(yīng)用商店的所有應(yīng)用都會(huì)經(jīng)過蘋果的審查， 以確保它們是安全實(shí)用的，能夠保護(hù)用戶信息。顯然，Mobile protection: Clean & Security VPN和林擔(dān)心的其他應(yīng)用，通過了審查程序，成功登陸了應(yīng)用商店。

無論是那種情況，很明顯蘋果的應(yīng)用商店能夠給開發(fā)者創(chuàng)造收入。在上周于加州圣何塞召開的年度全球開發(fā)者大會(huì)上，蘋果表示自應(yīng)用商店在2008年推出以來，已經(jīng)向開發(fā)者支付了700億美元收入，包括用戶購買應(yīng)用的收入和通過應(yīng)用商店產(chǎn)生的其他收入。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

Apple's App Store features some little-known apps that generate significant revenue through a combination of subscriptions and ads, according to a new report.

App developer Johnny Lin last week analyzed the App Store to reveal which apps generate the most revenue. While his search found that some big name services like Dropbox and Evernote were among the leaders, it also discovered that a relatively obscure app from a little-known developer named Ngan Vo Thi Thuy was ranked No. 10 among the top 10 highest-grossing apps in the App Store. According to app-tracking service Sensor Tower, that app, called "Mobile protection :Clean & Security VPN" (sic), generates $80,000 monthly in revenue.

Intrigued about what made that app so widely used, Lin, who wrote about his findings on Medium, did some research about the app and also used it. He found that it engages in what he calls "duplicitous behavior" by asking users to share their contacts with it. As he continued to use the app, Lin discovered that it wanted to charge him $99.99 for a seven-day subscription to its virus scanner. If he had agreed—something many iOS users seem to be doing—he would have paid $400 a month for access to the app's virus scanner.

The app, which is still available in the App Store, describes itself as a security program. However, Lin notes that as a VPN, or virtual private network, it can also serve to funnel Internet traffic. In other words, users are sending all of their Internet traffic through the app.

While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, there are many similar apps in the App Store from better-known sources that cost less than $100 per week. Still, it's important to note that as of this writing, Mobile protection :Clean & Security VPN has a three-and-a-half star rating from users. Some of those users say the app makes the iPhone "work better" and "faster." Others "highly" recommended the app. The authenticity of those reviews could not be verified.

Lin, who was suspicious of the app, then examined how it and similar programs attract users and generate so much revenue. He said that the apps use Apple's App Store search ads to move to the top of the search results when users input relevant queries.

"Turns out, scammers are abusing Apple’s relatively new and immature App Store Search Ads product," Lin wrote. He added that the "ads look almost indistinguishable from real results, and some ads take up the entire search result’s first page."

Apple (aapl, -1.04%) unveiled the search ads at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). They are clearly marked with a blue "ad" tag, but have a similar design to the apps listed in the search results, which could confuse some users.

Apple did not respond to a Fortune request for comment about the report. The developer of Mobile protection :Clean & Security VPN could not be found for comment.

For its part, Apple has long marketed apps in its App Store as being well-vetted. All apps submitted to the store are checked by Apple to ensure they're safe, useful, and protect user information. Of course, Mobile protection :Clean & Security VPN and other apps Lin is concerned about, made it through that vetting process to get into the App Store.

Whatever the case, it's clear Apple's App Store is a potential money-maker for developers. At its annual WWDC event last week in San Jose, Calif., Apple said that it had paid $70 billion to developers in earnings for people buying their apps and from other revenue generated through the store since its debut in 2008.