Sam Oliver
The ouster of AppGratis from the App Store is reportedly the first in a coming crackdown on application discovery services in Apple's App Store that violate the company's rules.
Apple's plans to tighten up enforcement of App Store rules were revealed on Wednesday by AllThingsD, which characterized the removal of AppGratis as a "first step" in a "broader enforcement" effort. AppGratis was simply the first high-profile casualty in the company's apparently impending efforts to curb developers paying for exposure.
"I'm told that Apple feels these apps threaten the legitimacy of the App Store charts by providing a way for developers to spend their way to a high ranking," author John Paczkowski wrote. He added: "The company also worries that such apps undermine the integrity of the App Store by cluttering it with alternative storefronts."
The CEO of AppGratis revealed on Tuesday that he is in "total disbelief" over the fact that Apple removed his service from the App Store. The banishment came because the discovery software violated two App Store regulations: one blocking apps that promote other apps in a manner similar to the App Store, and another forbidding apps using push notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.
AppGratis was pulled last weekend in response to the newly revised App Store rules, which did not align with the AppGratis promotion model. Apple reportedly took issue with the fact that the service appeared to favor developers who could pay for exposure of their applications.
Now it appears that AppGratis was just the beginning, as other app discovery services may soon be removed from the App Store. Sources told Paczkowski that AppGratis won't be returning to the App Store in its current form under Apple's rules, suggesting the software is "almost certainly finished as an iOS app."
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
32 Comments
No one want store with in store....Good jobs apple
This is like [I]Inception[/I]. Does AppGratis show up in AppGratis?¡
The problem is the Apple store simply doesn't allow for discovery of apps that might be of interest. There is too many, not enough search options, too many "discovered" apps that are irrelevant. The problems with the iTunes store in general is that it is a lot less useful, especially as compared to Amazon's examples when reviewing books. Apple needs to expand quality reviews of books, and apps. The paucity of such information makes shopping on iTunes more like dumpster diving.
Except Apple....they've been doing store within a store in the real world for quite some time now.
No one but the 45 employees the Company hires and the 12 million people who actively use the app.
Moreover, Apple should have a grandfather clause because the reality is the app has been on the app store since 2008, and the company has invested significant resources in developing the app. Moreover, after extensive discussions, Apple's team approved the app. A fact is Apple's rules are not always black and white. I would be very nervous as a developer to develop for a platform where the rules can be changed at any time, and when the rules are foggy, the company creating rules sides on the side of exclusion.
Here is the developers perspective. http://appgratis.com/blog/2013/04/09/appgratis-pulled-from-the-app-store-heres-the-full-story/