Our news (reported by Lin Qiling): All the applications of Qihoo 360 Company were removed from Apple's App Store yesterday. In response, the official side of 360 stated that they have communicated with Apple but haven't received a reply yet, reiterating that their products have no problems. 360 also pointed out in their response that their heavily promoted mobile guard app had been flooded with a large number of negative reviews, suspected to be done by competitors, directly pointing at Tencent and Kingsoft, stating not to believe the rumors spread by Tencent and Kingsoft regarding this matter. The reporter contacted Apple yesterday but did not receive a response.
In response to the naming accusation by 360, Tencent and Kingsoft quickly responded last night, both indicating that 360 should focus on its own issues and give users a reasonable and satisfactory explanation.
It is reported that 360 has 360 Mobile Guard, 360 Browser HD, 360 Group Buying HD, 360 Group Buying Navigation, 360 Kouxin, 360 Battery Doctor, and 360 Safe Backup on the AppStore. Currently, these products cannot be searched for on AppSrore. On Qihoo 360's official website, all iOS software versions involved, except for providing jailbreak installation version downloads, have changed the AppStore links to "coming soon."
Apple App developers indicated that Apple would notify developers via email of the reasons for removing products before delisting them. However, yesterday, 360 did not publicly disclose the reason for being taken down, and Apple also did not explain it. But at this time, Apple is clearing applications within the App Store, and last Friday, Apple launched an anti-plagiarism campaign, focusing on cleaning up counterfeit apps. Just then, all of Qihoo 360's applications were removed, triggering speculation.
360 quickly responded, stating that due to it being the weekend in US time, they have still not received a response from Apple. However, 360 reiterated that their products have no problems and claimed that they discovered that Kouxin, which 360 no longer promotes on the AppStore, was flooded with a large number of positive reviews, while the heavily promoted Mobile Guard was flooded with a large number of negative reviews, suspected to be done by competitors; and openly pointed out "please do not believe the rumors spread by Tencent and Kingsoft regarding this matter."
Regarding the accusations by 360, Tencent and Kingsoft quickly responded, both expressing dissatisfaction. Kingsoft also pointed out that they regretted 360's consistent public relations practice of trying to shift blame onto others and called it "the most severe punishment in Apple's history." Tencent also criticized 360 for "not using this method to shift the topic."
It is understood that this is not the first "battle" between 360, Tencent, and Kingsoft.
■ Responses from all three parties:
360 Security Guard (Weibo): Due to it being the weekend in US time, we have still not received a response from Apple. 360 reaffirms: our products have no problems, please use with confidence. We also discovered that on the AppStore, Kouxin, which 360 no longer promotes, was flooded with a large number of positive reviews, while the heavily promoted Mobile Guard was flooded with a large number of negative reviews, suspected to be done by competitors; please do not believe the rumors spread by Tencent and Kingsoft regarding this matter.
Kingsoft: We regret 360's refusal to face its own problems and attempts to shift the blame onto others through public relations practices. It is a fact that all of 360's products have been removed by Apple, which is the most severe punishment in Apple's history, far beyond just brushing up on positive reviews as you claim. Please give a prompt explanation to the users!
Tencent: The removal of all 360 Apps is a global decision made by Apple, and Tencent has no ability to influence such a decision. Please 360 pay attention to your own problems and give users a reasonable and satisfactory explanation; and don't use this method to shift the topic.
■ Analysis:
The rate of removals from Apple's App Store is not high.
Apple's AppStore review process has always been very strict, leading many industry insiders to speculate that it might be due to 360 products cheating during the ranking push in AppStore. Regarding this speculation, Tang Zhongning, CEO of Progress Thinking Innovation, said that most developers engage in ranking brushing behaviors, even if 360 engaged in such actions, it wouldn't be the key factor to result in the removal of all products.
Tang Zhongning revealed that 360's IOS Mobile Guard has two versions, besides the iTunes version, there is also a jailbreak version, which directly operates on the Apple core, and Apple believes it could infringe on user privacy and security factors, which is likely to cause Apple's dissatisfaction. Additionally, 360 hopes to build itself into an application platform, which poses direct competition to Apple. These two points are more likely to be the critical factors.
Yesterday, the Qihoo 360 homepage also provided a temporary response plan. Similar to before when it wasn't approved, the 360 Mobile Guard iPhone version lost its official download platform and returned to the jailbreak software category.
Moreover, industry insiders pointed out that the security coefficient of 360 Mobile Guard as a jailbreak software also raises questions, as the software itself involves user privacy data segments.
Although Apple's App Store contains a vast amount of applications, Apple rarely takes harsh measures against developers. According to analysis data released by Berlin market analysis consulting firm Research2guidance, the removal rate of Apple applications is only 24%, much lower than Android's 37%.
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