You can make money by watching videos and walking around... Money-making APP "falls from the sky"
expert: It's better not to eat this kind of "pie"!
With the increasing number of "head-downers", a group of money-making apps with the gimmick of "watching videos and making money while walking" frequently appeared, in order to attract users to download and install them.
However, do these money making apps really make money?
Are there any tricks in it?
The reporter's investigation found that many money-making apps from registration and use to cash withdrawal are time-consuming and labor-intensive.
In addition, such apps have the risk of leaking personal information, which cannot be ignored.
Watch 500 videos to earn 10 yuan
"You can earn money by watching a video" "You can get money by walking".
Ms. Xiao, who is living a retired life at home, often sees advertisements implanted in such money-making apps when watching short videos, claiming that she can get certain rewards by using simple operations on her mobile phone in her spare time. This temptation can not help but make her heart move. .
Ms. Xiao downloaded three money-making apps on her mobile phone. According to the regulations of different platforms, watching videos, walking, doing tasks, etc. can be exchanged for gold coins, and then withdraw cash.
"At first I thought it would be easy to get a few thousand gold coins, but later I found out that 10,000 gold coins can be exchanged for 1 yuan." Ms. Xiao calculated that she could earn more than 700 gold coins by walking 10,000 steps every day. Seconds, as long as three or five minutes, the three softwares take turns to watch, and at least four or five hundred minutes to earn 1 to 2 yuan.
And as the amount of withdrawals increases, the threshold for making money is also getting higher and higher, and the amount of gold coins earned in the same time period is getting less and less, "money becomes more and more difficult to earn".
Zhang Ran (pseudonym), who works in Guangzhou, told reporters that he had downloaded an information software, and when he watched the news, the page kept popping up advertisements that read “you can get xx yuan after watching the news for one more minute”, but in fact, it only took ten minutes to watch the news. After accumulating a few cents, and the quality of the recommended content was poor, I finally chose to "uninstall it".
The reporter searched the Internet for the keyword "making money APP" and found that various advertising links emerged one after another.
In order to avoid supervision, some APPs are not listed on the official app store, but choose to post on the Internet and download through links.
In addition, many APPs also set up seemingly generous recommendation rewards, which are much easier than watching videos, walking, and doing tasks to make money. To a certain extent, it has accelerated the viral promotion of various money-making APPs.
The advertising monitoring data released by the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Bureau recently also showed that this kind of “net earning” advertisements accounted for 13.8% of all advertisements monitored in Shenzhen in the second half of last year, and the proportion of these advertisements suspected to be illegal in terms of propaganda was as high as 62.3%. %, and the delivery volume is increasing month by month.
So, does downloading these apps really make money?
In terms of specific operations, taking a money-making app as an example, the advertisement claims to immediately withdraw 10 yuan after watching a video, and it can also draw a lottery for free, creating an illusion that the cash can be withdrawn soon.
But in fact, reporters only get 0.02 yuan every time they watch a video of more than 30 seconds, and the platform stipulates that at least 10 yuan is required for withdrawal, which means that at least 500 times can be withdrawn, and most of them are advertisements and other content.
Some APPs need to reach the set goals such as "level" and "number of steps" before they can withdraw money. There are many obstacles on the way to withdraw money.
More and more middle-aged and elderly people are keen
During the interview process, the reporter found that many middle-aged and elderly people are addicted to using their mobile phones to do "tasks" to make money. They either take care of their children at home, or they have a lot of free time after retirement. Usually they take money very seriously.
Aunt Zhang, who is in her 50s this year, told reporters that a friend around her once recommended her to download a certain video speed version APP. Because of the generous rewards after the recommendation, relatives and friends of the same age have basically downloaded all kinds of money-making software and used their spare time. make money.
As for whether personal information has been entered, how to bind a WeChat account, how to register and log in, etc., Aunt Zhang said: "I don't know anything, it's all taught me by others."
Gao Yandong, a researcher at the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Public Policy, believes that the reason why middle-aged and elderly people are keen to play money-making apps is that they have more free time, and they can earn pocket money by brushing mobile phone software, which is a better way of pastime for them. However, compared with the strict protection of personal information by young people, middle-aged and elderly people have short exposure to smartphones and lack awareness of self-protection.
"In the final analysis, the spiritual life is relatively lacking, and the society does not care enough for the middle-aged and elderly groups."
Be vigilant: personal information is at risk of leakage
`Aside from the fact that the rewards obtained are not proportional to the time and energy spent, using this kind of APP carelessly may bring about various negative effects, and even personal information may be leaked.
Xiaoxuan (pseudonym) told reporters that after downloading a money-making APP, he began to receive frequent harassing calls, most of which were related to online loans or "swiping bills".
Ms. Xiao once played a money-making app that guesses idioms. Because she was not familiar with such software, she was inexplicably deducted 20 yuan after clicking an option.
Afterwards, she recalled that it should have been caused by the APP being bound to her personal WeChat account. As for when and how to bind it, she could not recall it for a long time.
Since then, because the WeChat account is the mobile phone number, she has frequently received advertising text messages.
The reporter's investigation found that the collection of personal information often occurs in the step of cash withdrawal. The platform needs to bind personal Alipay and WeChat accounts, and also obtain the user's name, mobile phone number, and ID number.
When you first register and log in to the APP, a page reminder will also pop up. During the use process, the information provided by the user will be collected to ensure the normal basic operation of the product, and it can only be used after consent.
Such APPs may be suspected of pyramid schemes or false propaganda
In addition, many money-making apps deliberately exaggerate the effect of making money, which is suspected of false advertising, and sets up generous incentives for promotion, which has also aroused discussions among legal professionals.
The “Qubu” app, which claims to be able to make money by walking, was investigated in 2019 for suspected pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, financial fraud and other illegal acts.
Therefore, some people in the industry believe that some users who make money APP use some users to recommend to their relatives and friends around them after obtaining benefits, and give certain rewards after the recommendation is successful. , to a certain extent wandering in the gray area of supervision.
So is this reward model similar to the components of MLM?
Liao Jianxun, a partner of Guangdong Guoding Law Firm and a public welfare lawyer, believes that some money-making apps will receive corresponding rewards for recommending new members to download, which is similar to pyramid selling, but it may not be established.
MLM is only established when it involves three levels, and some APPs only involve two levels through recommended downloads, which cannot constitute a pyramid scheme.
"However, if the behavior is suspected of constituting pyramid selling, it will be subject to corresponding administrative penalties and may also be investigated for criminal responsibility." Lawyer Liao said that if consumers believe that the behavior of the money-making app is suspected of constituting pyramid selling, they can report to the market supervision and management department. Reports will be investigated and punished by the market supervision department.
Lawyer Liao believes that if these money-making apps are essentially to induce consumers to download, but they actually distribute advertisements in disguised form, indicating that there is deceit.
Secondly, some apps claim that you can easily make money by playing games and walking, but it is not easy to operate in practice, so it is obviously a behavior that misleads consumers and constitutes false advertising.
The market supervision and management department can impose administrative penalties on this. If the circumstances are serious, it may also constitute the crime of false advertising and will be investigated for criminal responsibility.
how to prevent
Be wary of informal app market downloads
It is recommended that multiple departments work together to rectify
He Zhanqiang, a network security expert, said that when users download and use a money-making app, they must first understand the principle of making money, and how much authority they have acquired during the period; secondly, measure whether the cost of time invested is proportional to the money earned.
Finally, be especially wary of apps that you can download by yourself from informal app markets only through internet links.
"If an APP does not even have a formal channel, there is a great risk. This is a matter of common sense."
He Zhanqiang believes that in order to prevent falling into the consumption trap, users must first raise their awareness, and there is no such thing as a free lunch.
"Many APPs are behind an institutional enterprise, with the purpose of making money, and consumers must make judgments with normal business logic."
Gao Yandong believes that such APPs are flooding the Internet, and many users report leaking personal information or even being deceived, indicating that market supervision and management departments and public security departments need to strengthen supervision.
"APP providers are network service providers, and middle-aged and elderly people are network service consumers. According to the "Consumer Rights Protection Law", the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau has the right to protect the personal information of consumers and hold operators accountable for infringement. Another On the one hand, the security of personal information of network users falls under the supervision of the network security department of the public security organ, and if the user encounters property fraud, it also falls under the supervision of the public security organ.”
In the face of the chaos in the money-making APP industry, some industry experts pointed out that relevant departments such as public security, market supervision and Internet information should take active actions and work together to rectify.
At the same time, the market supervision department has also called on all Internet companies to enhance legal awareness, strengthen self-censorship, enhance user experience, and jointly guide the healthy development of the market for the purpose of serving users with high-quality products.
In this regard, Gao Yandong said that, first of all, regulatory governance should have laws to abide by, and can formulate network software application market access standards and regulatory system basis, including the boundaries of personal information collection and use, and the responsibilities that should be assumed when it cannot be withdrawn.
Secondly, the public security department and the Internet information department should increase the punishment for online fraud and violation of personal information, establish a centralized complaint platform for software such as making money APPs for the elderly, remove the APPs with a large number of complaints, and punish their developers. personal punishment.
Finally, Internet platform companies should establish and improve industry norms and supervision and error correction mechanisms, strengthen prior and in-process supervision, and earnestly fulfill corporate industry responsibilities.
For APPs commonly used by the elderly, a dedicated interface suitable for the elderly can be developed, and at the same time, higher protection of information security can be provided.
Comprehensive reports from Xinhua News Agency, Voice of China, People's Daily Overseas Edition, and Southern Metropolis Daily