When Swing Copters, the latest hit game from Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen, went live earlier this month Android users had to scroll past an incredible 60 clones before finding the original. With an app repository as vast as the Google Play Store, this is not an uncommon occurrence.
In the past, this wasn’t a problem that Windows Phone had to worry about. Microsoft’s mobile platform has been growing consistently over the past year or so, though, with particular headway made in recent months. As such, developers have given mobile’s tertiary app store more and more attention. The time has come for Microsoft to thin the ranks.
In a recent culling, Microsoft has removed more than 1,500 apps from the Windows Phone Store for not “clearly and accurately reflect the functionality of the app“. That guideline will now be applied to all apps listed in the store. Not only that, but the icons used for apps cannot be clear impersonations or knock-offs of existing apps.
Microsoft has also stated that it will gladly refund anybody who says they were conned into purchasing a misleading app.
The aim behind all of this is to prevent shameless knockoffs and apps loaded with spyware from being downloaded by mistake. Hopefully by acting now Microsoft will prevent its app store from reaching the treacherous state of Android’s.
