Apple Extends Non-Disclosure to App Store Rejection Letters

[MacRumors]

Apple has gotten a significant amount of critical press surrounding its rejection policies in the App Store. A few high profile rejections have been widely reported and inspired at least one amusing comic.

Aparently, Apple has now started labeling their rejection letters with Non-Disclosure (NDA) warnings:

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE

Readers should note that Apple's developer correspondence may have already been covered by the original NDA, but Apple is now making it clear.

In contrast to Apple's approval process for the App Store, the newly announced Android Market claims an entirely unrestricted free-for-all model. Early concerns about that model question how inappropriate, spam, or malicious material may be filtered. It seems that the efforts to prevent issues such as bandwidth abuse have been shifted to the carrier who has implemented caps for the 3G data plans at 1GB per month:

If your total data usage in any billing cycle is more than 1GB, your data throughput for the remainder of that cycle may be reduced to 50 kbps or less.

Article Link

[AliensAreFuzzy]

While I don't appreciate how much Apple is trying to close off the system and make it a black box, I don't think a free-for-all approach will be any better. There will be so much junk to sift through to find something good. Not to mention malicious app possibilities.

[arn]

I predict the #1 app in the Android Market store will be porn. Not that there's anything wrong with that I guess.

(and #2 will be Koi Pond)

arn

[PBG4 Dude]

Now Apple doesn't even want you talking about the fact you've been rejected from their store? That's pretty damn weak.

[jawzzy]

Hmm...I guess in the android marketplace, people will have ot get outside reviews from places like Giz or Engadget or Pogue and then go specifically find those apps.

[longofest]

I wonder what purpose it serves Apple to put the letters under the NDA as well, other than to shield them from the press.

Shielding from the press is not the purpose from an NDA... the purpose of an NDA is to protect sensitive information from competitors.

What we have here are two extremes: Apple going off the deep end on secrecy and Google being perhaps a bit too open and opening themselves up for malware. Why can't we have a cool, moderate head in this ballgame?

[plumbingandtech]

Good.

These devs that go running to the court of public blogging (oh how we know how much reasearch and objectivity blogs and their posters put into things 99% of the time. ) to air their dirty laundry is unprofessional to say the least.

They are in a contract with apple, this contract now extends to the rejection letters.

if they don't like it, either swallow their gripes or they can go build an app for that new phone that does not even have a headphone jack.*


*dongles are a joke.

[topicolo]

so instead of addressing the issue of banning competitors, they try to silence them?

Apple is turning into a monster of a company--the kind with traits that all the mac purists hated in microsoft years ago, but worse!

[ATG]

iDictatorship

Apple appears to have gone power mad. I certainly won't be developing any iPhone apps.

[stuy119]

LMAO!

So you put in time and effort, and we don't like your app since it makes us look bad, cheap, etc. Oh, but you can't comment on how you feel.

Just take it like a man! And you'll like it!

What a crock.

[plumbingandtech]

so instead of addressing the issue of banning competitors, they try to silence them?

What needs addressing?

The podcaster app broke the SDK rules.

And apple and the dev can still address it if they need to, between themselves, not between apple, the dev and the bloggers that don't have all the facts in front of them yet still will knee jerk to "apple is evil" in 2 seconds flat.

[BrianMojo]

This is awful. C'mon, Apple, this is just draconian and you know it.

Expect a swift backlash.

[Island Dog]

Apple is really becoming a joke with this.

[NAG]

Yeah, this is rather insane. Our two choices seem to be a complete black box and a free for all. Can't we have something in the middle?

[Stella]

Apple are getting seriously lame.

I wonder if they are starting to feel pressure regarding their inconsistent AppStore policy?

[whooleytoo]

????

How does that even work? There's an NDA covering the SDK which you have to agree to before developing an app, sure.

But how does an NDA on an email work? You can't read the warning without reading the email, there's no "opt out" option. It's not an NDA.

That statement isn't worth the email it's printed on!

[DanielJvdBerg]

My god Apple, what do you mean hypocrite.

[Mattjeff]

wtf
Apple has been on a slipery slide down hill for a while here, Arrogant, power hungry, iWay or the high way.
Good buy think different, hello think like we tell you.

[dolphin842]

The situation appears to be getting worse rather than better!

Originally Posted by NAG

Yeah, this is rather insane. Our two choices seem to be a complete black box and a free for all. Can't we have something in the middle?

Hear hear... the iPhone should be the ideal platform for a compromise of this sort. I think that if Apple just makes it clear which apps are OK and which aren't, that would go a long way towards reaching that goal. Still, I don't like the idea of potentially useful apps being denied for spurious reasons...

[whooleytoo]

p.s. anyone else see the irony in the Non-disclosure warning being leaked to the public?

[Elven]

Something needs to be done, because everyone will just jailbreak to obtain app's they want.

[sfoalex]

Luckily for me, I had already decided to switch away from the iPhone. Mostly because it's lacking a few features I need and I waiting is stupid. When the features are there, my iPhone will be brought from the drawer and re-considered. But at this point, if Android gets the software I need, perhaps Apple will not be re-considered at all.

Big mistake by Apple. Closing the system is a bad idea. And it's gone from bad to worse.

No more money from me Apple. Clean up your act.

Alex Alexzander

[Le Big Mac]

Originally Posted by whooleytoo

But how does an NDA on an email work? You can't read the warning without reading the email, there's no "opt out" option. It's not an NDA.

You agree to it when you send the app in for approval, right?

It's short-sighted, because if developers don't know what fails, then they won't bother spending time if it's just a crapshoot.

I think it's fine to NDA the specific reasons in specific cases, but if Apple does that they need to explain their decisions at least in general terms so other developers can understand what's good and what's not.

[deannnnn]

Originally Posted by arn

I predict the #1 app in the Android Market store will be porn. Not that there's anything wrong with that I guess.

(and #2 will be Koi Pond)

arn

Lmao.
Still... Apple is really starting to annoy me.
Why does it have to be under non-disclosure?
Who is Apple to decide whether a not an app has limited utility?

[OddyOh]

Ready, Set, Backlash!