Apple’s App Store Approval Process Gone Too Far?

When Apple’s “App Store” launched just last July, anyone who owned an iPhone or iPod touch found themselves in love with all of what was offered. In my talking to a few iPhone owners shortly after the store launched, many of them had more than ten apps already downloaded, and a few that they found themselves using on a regular basis. Overall, the App Store had incredible success, both for Apple, and the app developers.

There has been one major problem, however, regarding which applications can be found there by users, or put up by developers. Apple has a very stringent application approval process, and if absolutely anything about the app the company doesn’t like, they don’t approve it. In the past year, there have been so many reports of apps pushed away that I’ve lost count, but there seems to be a new story everyday.

Of course, some applications shouldn’t be posted on the App Store, because Apple does need to make sure that their users are safe. But it seems like lately, the majority of denied applications don’t carry along a good excuse. Take the Commodore emulator that was denied last month. The problem there was the ability for the emulator to run code, but to push away such an incredible app for such a reason is foolish. My ideal method would be to warn people about installing such apps. If something killed their iPhone (which is unlikely), then it’d be their fault, not the company’s. Plus, if emulators are denied, that to me says something about the iPhone’s security, or lack of.

Matt Buchanan at Gizmodo is far more aware of the situation with the App Store than I am, though, and his read posted just the other day is a good one. It pretty much sums up exactly why I have little interest in owning an Apple device. The company is too hardcore in their ways, and refuse good apps that are actually very useful… all seemingly in order to please either themselves, or AT&T. There’s far, far too much back and forth with the company. On one day, they might allow something, and the next, they don’t. Screw that… I’ll go where the choice can be found.

The situation crystallizes our worst fears about Apple’s dictatorial App Store. Users aren’t being protected from bad things or from themselves here. Even though it seemed ridiculous to us, when apps with objectionable content were blocked or booted before the ratings system was in place, it was in the interest of some paradoxically lazy but over-protective parent somewhere out there.