In response to target=newframe>complaints about fake and scam apps in the Windows Store, Microsoft has started cracking down, removing 1,500 bogus apps. According to a Microsoft blog, the company has changed its certification criteria in three key ways: names must “clearly and accurately reflect the functionality of the app,” apps must be “categorized according to the app function and purpose, and icons “must be differentiated to avoid being mistaken with others.” Windows 8 developers could now find their apps rejected if they violate any of these standards.
According to the company, “Most of the developers behind apps that are found to violate our policies have good intentions and agree to make the necessary changes when notified. Others have been less receptive, causing us to remove more than 1,500 apps as part of this review so far (as always we will gladly refund the cost of an app that is downloaded as a result of an erroneous title or description).”
