The dilemma Chinese Internet companies leave for Apple

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On November 16, Sogou Number Lite iOS version officially landed on the Apple Store, becoming the industry's first third-party "anti-harassment" communication management software that can be used on iPhone without jailbreaking, bringing the most efficient and high-quality "anti-harassment" service experience to the majority of iPhone users.

Sogou Number Lite is so cute

My first reaction when I saw Sogou Number Pass Lite was, which expert successfully bypassed Apple's sandbox mechanism? How did they bypass it? But after seeing the method of Sogou Number Pass Lite, I just want to say it's really stupid and cute.

In fact, this concept is not original to Sogou. As early as 2009, True Caller, founded in Silicon Valley, took advantage of Apple's bug. True Caller users can use Truecaller's mobile app and website to search for anyone in the world by name or phone number, and can also set up a blocking list to filter out spam.

Although Sogou Number Pass Lite seems to have successfully bypassed the sandbox mechanism, its shortcomings are also obvious. A whole database of nuisance calls is built into the phone book. Although the file does not look large, if you click on it, the phone will immediately freeze and then quickly heat up. Tens of thousands of phone numbers are hidden under 7 or 9 contacts. Although Apple's memory call mechanism is perfect, two fists cannot beat four hands. It takes a while to upload to iCloud. How can it work on the phone?

If you don't want to jailbreak and want to block harassment, you have to pay a price - don't be too lazy. Of course, if you can solve the freezing problem by not being too lazy, then the next problem will have to be solved by Ma Huateng.

The principle of Gouhaoshutong lite is to write tens of thousands of harassing calls into the user's address book. However, the mobile phone is bound to WeChat and QQ. Then the QQ numbers of these scammers are listed among the recommended friends, as if to say, dear, these are your scammers, take them away. The same is true for WeChat.

The following is an analysis from a friend within the Sogou team (excerpted from Zhihu)

1. The most traditional way is to monitor incoming and outgoing call notifications. On a non-jailbroken iPhone, we cannot hook the system SpringBoard code, cannot call Apple's non-public interface, and cannot pass the Appstore review. In addition, the only way to keep the background running is to play a silent audio file in the background, but this also cannot pass the Appstore review.

2. Another way is to use the enterprise certificate version. But the disadvantages are obvious. We cannot put it on the Appstore for users to download, which makes us lose the meaning of doing this function. In addition, silent audio files need to be played in the background, which leads to high power consumption.

3. Under the current circumstances, the above solution should be the only way to save the country. Its advantages are obvious - it can be put on the Appstore, benefiting countless iPhone users who have not jailbroken, and can achieve call attribution, and the number database can also be dynamically updated.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. We are well aware of the drawbacks of the above solutions and are trying our best to avoid them and provide a better user experience. For example:

1. Allow users to download number databases independently, such as real estate agents and insurance salesmen, which can solve some of the problems of address book lag.

2. Find a way to hide our newly created address book to resolve user confusion (feasibility is still being verified).

3. When installing and using Sogou Number Connect to use the above functions, adhere to the principle of openness and transparency, repeatedly give operation prompts, and inform relevant operations and possible results.

Finally, Sogou decided to open up the patent and let major domestic Internet companies follow suit. As expected, 360 and other manufacturers have launched products with similar functions.

Internet companies forcing the emperor

Regarding Sogou's behavior, I can only say that Sogou is trying to lead Chinese Internet companies to force Apple out of office.

The current situation is that major domestic Internet companies have begun to use various methods to write harassing calls into the mobile phone address books of Apple users. Although only Sogou and 360 have launched anti-harassment functions, Baidu, Tencent and others will definitely not turn a blind eye to the anti-harassment needs of nearly 200 million Apple mobile phone users in China. Faced with the collective pressure from Chinese Internet giants, what should Apple do?

We can imagine if Apple turns a blind eye to this matter and remains unmoved no matter how domestic Internet companies mess around. Then according to the trend of telephone fraud in China, the number of numbers written into the mobile phone database will only increase. It will feel like a delicious dish is bitten by a fly in full view of the public, but there is nothing you can do about it. However, with the increasing number of Apple users in China, if Apple ignores the issue, it will disappoint users. In the current popular Internet thinking, this destroys the user experience. If Apple turns a blind eye, will it provoke a war of words between Apple fans and other netizens?

The second is that Apple directly shuts down the address book interface. This approach not only seems a bit cruel, but also directly blocks the livelihood of Apple's address book developers, and will also cause considerable losses to Apple itself. Apple should give up this behavior that harms others and does not benefit itself.

Third, if Apple follows its usual practice, it must first acquire a company in a related field before entering a certain field, and then conduct research and development on its own. There are countless examples of this. This time, Apple may use the developer policy to eliminate Sogou, 360 and other domestic Internet companies. So will the giants give up this piece of fat or join forces to challenge Apple?

Fourth, recruiting. Apple may have some choices within the open framework. First, it will open the call record interface to allow Chinese companies such as Sogou to have a better way to implement anti-harassment functions and optimize Apple's user experience. It may also put the number database accumulated by companies such as Sogou on Apple's server, which feels like recruiting. Then the question is, which company should be recruited? Let the domestic giants wait for Apple's favor like a concubine waiting to be turned over?

I will use it for now, it is better than nothing. More importantly, Apple's choice can reflect its attitude towards its nearly 200 million users in China. Apple, please don't let down the Chinese fans!