Microsoft nukes rejected Imagewind Windows Phone 7 app from Marketplace

By Tom Warren, on 4th Apr 11 12:37 pm with 8 Comments

R.I.P. Imagewind for WP7: 3/16 - 3/30

Microsoft has rejected and blocked an application from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.

The software giant approved the application “Imagewind” in mid-March but decided last week that changes were required after the developer submitted an update. Imagewind displayed the latest photos from around the world via Twitter and updated on a near-live basis. Microsoft’s Marketplace policy team sent the following notice to app developer Roger Peters:

Imagewind – app unpublish request
[..] While the images shown are dynamic, per your app’s disclaimer, a portion of the images’ content is too graphic for the app to be permissible in Marketplace. In order to be permissible, there would need to be a content filter before surfacing images since users are not querying a specific type of image and are rather pushed to them.

Given this, we ask that you unpublish your app within one business day until you are able to modify your application to comply with the certification guidelines.[..]

Thank you for your understanding in the matter, and we will hope to see an updated version soon.

Windows Phone Marketplace Policy team

Peters originally had a grace period to allow Microsoft’s Director of Developer Experience for Windows Phone, Brandon Watson, to investigate. Watson stepped in via Twitter after promising to “follow up” with the Marketplace team. Unfortunately, despite further review the Marketplace policy team are sticking to their original decision and removed Imagewind from the Marketplace on Friday. “I only got about 60 minutes of notice to remove it myself,” says Peters, “so it was removed for me” at 8PM EST on Friday April 1. “For what it is worth, I still haven’t been contacted by Brandon Watson, so I don’t really have any more insight as to if I have any further options here,” added Peters.

Peters now hopes that Microsoft’s Marketplace regulations will change. “Perhaps most disappointing is that it could have been released in the iOS or Android marketplaces,” says Peters. The application has been removed from the Marketplace but developers can side-load the application from imagewind.net. “I guess now I’ll start the journey of getting Imagewind on other mobile devices,” says Peters.

  • http://www.funys.net Ben Gillam

    intresting way for ms to deal with it, even apple just gives you a 17+ warning

    • Anonymous

      Microsoft stated very early that they wanted the marketplace to stay PG13, so I don’t se a problem with it. It would be a different matter if they didn’t have clear rules.

    • http://www.funys.net Ben Gillam

      I guess, but why alienate those older than that because youngsters might see something they shouldn’t. If people say apple are controlling then this is worse, what next blocking porn or swear words for iexplore to keep it pg13?

    • Anonymous

      I wouldn’t say Microsoft is worse then Apple. Apple is creating their own set of rules that they seem to change on a whim. Microsoft is using an existing set of rules.

    • http://www.funys.net Ben Gillam

      And I’m not disagreeing with you. But having a rule in stone that nothing is to ever be over pg13 is a bad thing. Ever heard of parental controls ms :)

  • http://twitter.com/gtroberts GTRoberts

    Unfortunately MS marketplace doesn’t support age grouping :-(

  • http://twitter.com/Koki_v3 Koki_v3

    I don’t think we’ll be seeing this app again until MS introduces some sort of parental controls on WP7.

  • http://twitter.com/srkain Stef Kastamonitis

    I’m not an expert in legal matters, but what would it cost to MS to just add an age rating system on zune (similar to the “explicit” tag they add on the music marketplace) or just deal with it with a “Developers Responsibility” kind of attitude?