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Apple and Google rejecting apps cashing in on the Flappy Bird name

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So Flappy Bird turned out to be a major success, more than even the developer had imagined, causing him to eventually take the game down. Naturally, then, everyone and their dog since then has tried to cash in on the aerodynamically challenged bird’s fame with several ‘Flappy’ games now on both the App Store and the Play Store.

It seems, after quite some time, both Apple and Google have noticed this trend and are now clamping down on developers who are submitting apps with ‘Flappy’ in the name. Several developers have reported recently that their apps were rejected simply for ‘attempting to leverage a popular app’.

Apple’s reasoning is that they are doing this to prevent customers being tricked into downloading something that mimics something else. Google has given no official reason but I’d guess it’s along similar lines.

This move comes a bit late but is a welcome one. The application stores have in the past several times been flooded with rip-offs every time a game or an app went popular and for most parts both Apple and Google have turned a blind eye and allowed it to happen. This is the first time they have put their foot down and taken a decision in the users’ favor. Meanwhile, these unimaginative developers looking to make a quick buck now have to find other tactics to rip people off.

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