

Girls Around Me Has Been Yanked From The App Store - tilt
http://www.cultofmac.com/157918/creepy-girl-stalking-app-girls-around-me-has-been-yanked-from-the-app-store/

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rbarooah
There are a bunch of comments here expressing outrage at the seeming arbitrary
decision of Apple to pull this app.

Whilst others have correctly pointed out that the app no longer works because
FourSquare has cut off API access, Apple's policies do essentially allow them
to remove apps that they consider to be in bad taste or against the interests
of consumers without having a guideline in place in advance.

They explicitly say that the app store guidelines are open to being changed,
and that they think developers should know where to draw the line, even if
it's not in already in the rules.

Compliance with the stated rules isn't a guarantee of anything. They really
just help people to avoid repeating things that have caused rejections in the
past.

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jinushaun
The real question is whether the infamous App Store approval process was
supposed to "catch" something like this in the first place?

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rbarooah
We know by now that the approval process doesn't catch everything that later
turns out to be a problem.

Apple makes no secret of this.

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nchuhoai
While I think it is morally wrong, what specific policies have they violated?
The quote in cult-of-mac was rather vague and from what I have gathered from
this issue is that they access purely public data?

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TazeTSchnitzel
Apple considers it in bad taste... if they feel an App will harm the App
Store's reputation or is not good for consumers they can pull it.

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f4stjack
This is just a palliative cure. The genie is already out of the box and you
just can't put it in. The problem lies with our habit of giving away personal
information like cotton candy. Combine it with lax security/privacy measures
and this is what you get.

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zobzu
cause yeh, you get removed if you bring bad publicity.

does not matter that anyone can do this on their own, and that what should be
limited at the source... nonono, the source generates way too much money &
power.

Just kill and blame the little guy for doing what the big guys are doing.

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jws
The app did not function as advertised. That is grounds for removal. (Their
API access was cut off by foursquare.)

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27182818284
"The app did not function as advertised."

Intentionally vague such that Apple or whatever company implementing similar
language can cut off access to something when PR goes bad.

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jbri
Foursquare cut off the app's API access. The app literally didn't work when it
was removed.

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guynamedloren
Would love to hear the 'Girls Around Me' developers chime in on this.. I never
used the app, but it certainly seemed popular (though maybe I'm wrong?). I
wonder if they're going to try to revamp and revive it.

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kalleboo
Ironically, that Cult of Mac article has an apptap ad for Girls Around Me…

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malkia
Time for "Fools around me" - tick tock

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BHSPitMonkey
They should spin this off into a "Stalkers Around Me" app, displaying location
data from the users who installed "Girls Around Me".

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anonymoushn
"Users of This App Around Me" won't need to use Foursquare.

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glogla
And that might also be useful app, if you're into this sort of thing. Like 'HW
users who want to advertise to other HW users they might want to grab a beer
around me'.

Getting the privacy right is tricky, though.

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paulhauggis
This is what happens when you sell your software on a site run by a dictator
(or in this case, Apple): they make all the rules..and there's not much you
can do when you get kicked for violating one.

This is why I've started to shy away from third-party marketplaces and sites.
Unless you own your own site (and are getting a significant portion of your
clients from this site), you don't really have full control over your
business.

Even when you have your own site, Google has a similar type of control over
you.

