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10 banned Android and iPhone apps

Posted: , by Nick T.

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10 banned Android and iPhone apps
While the Apple App Store and Android Market host hundreds of thousands of apps, getting in is not necessarily easy. Apps do get tested prior to publication, and failure to meet any of the corresponding company' requirements could result in a denial.

However, sometimes apps get accepted only to be kicked out at a later time. Nevertheless, some of them do deserve getting some attention. Care to meet some of them? Well, read along as we introduce you to ten banned Android and iPhone applications. 



SpoofApp

Here is an app that spies at heart could use – SpoofApp. It allows you to use a fake Caller ID – a number that you are free to specify yourself, in order to protect your privacy or to pull a prank on someone. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Well, Apple didn't think so, which is why it never allowed the app to enter its App Store. Google, however, didn't mind, which is why SpoofApp was available on the Android Market for about two and a half years. However, it was banned from there last year as it allegedly was in conflict with The Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009. SpoofApp is now available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, webOS, and even Windows Mobile directly from the developer's web page.



SpoofApp (left) and WikiLeaks (right)
SpoofApp (left) and WikiLeaks (right)

SpoofApp (left) and WikiLeaks (right)

Wikileaks

For a couple of days, an unofficial WikiLeaks app was available on the Apple App Store only to get removed without much explanation given. Sure, it was just an unofficial app, yet half of the revenue that it generated was reportedly going towards funding the WikiLeaks project itself. For $2, the app provided every iPhone owner with access to the controversial database of secret documents. Today, similar apps can be found in the Android Market, and one of them is available at the link provided below.



Grooveshark

Grooveshark is one of those online music services that let you upload, search for, and stream all your favorite tunes to a computer or mobile device. The mobile app, however, first got removed from the Apple App Store, and a removal from the Android Market followed in April of last year. Fortunately, Grooveshark is still around. All you need to do is to visit the company's web page and grab the mobile app from there. You can use the service on an Android device, a BlackBerry smartphone, a Symbian or a webOS handset, and even on the iPhone, as long as it has been jailbroken. Grooveshark has a free, ad-supported version, but in exchange for $9 per month you can go ad-less and unlock a bunch of extra features.



GrooveShark (left) and PostSecret (right)
GrooveShark (left) and PostSecret (right)

GrooveShark (left) and PostSecret (right)

PostSecret

Well, PostSecret was not really banned from the App Store, but should its creator had not removed it voluntarily, it would have been only a matter of time until Apple gave it the boot. It was an app with an innovative concept behind it – providing a way for users to share their secrets anonymously with others. And PostSecret was pretty popular too, judging by how quickly it landed among the most purchased apps in the App Store. Sadly, its popularity was the cause for its demise, according to its author. The overwhelming amount of inappropriate content made it increasingly difficult for the app to be supported, which is why the entire project was killed on January 2 of this year.


Prohibition: The Dope Wars 2

Have you tried Mafia Wars on Facebook? Prohibition: The Dope Wars 2 was an iPhone title somehow similar to it in nature. The goal of the game was to collect as much money as possible within a 30 day time limit. How do you collect money, you ask? By selling narcotics. The controversial game was removed the very instant when Apple found out about it, but that didn't stop its developers from releasing a follow-up of sorts. Appropriately titled CandyWars, the game is pretty much identical to its predecessor, but instead of drugs, you sell candy. You can check out CandyWars by following the link below.



Prohibition The Dope Wars 2 (left) and Drivers License (right)
Prohibition The Dope Wars 2 (left) and Drivers License (right)

Prohibition The Dope Wars 2 (left) and Drivers License (right)

Drivers License

Drivers License was a fun, free app that allowed one to make a phony (you guessed it) diver's license. Well,  not a real physical one, of course – just an image that the user could share with their buddies online for grins and giggles. It offered realistically looking templates of licenses from every state and allowed for all the personal information to be edited too. Sadly, it was kicked out of the Apple App Store after a complaint from U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania despite being available for about two years. Perhaps he didn't like the way his turned out.


I Am Rich

Would you ever download an app that does not do anything? Neither would we, especially when it is priced at $1000 like I Am Rich. That is the astronomical price one had to pay to own the said app, which only displayed an image of a glowing red gem. Oh, and it also flashed a specific mantra on the phone's display, which was probably intended to bring riches to the owner. Not quite what you'd expect out of software costing a thousand dollars, right? The app got removed by Apple eventually, but not before 8 naive iPhone owners purchased it. 


I Am Rich (left) and PSX4droid (right)
I Am Rich (left) and PSX4droid (right)

I Am Rich (left) and PSX4droid (right)

PSX4droid

For a geek, nothing brings those heartwarming nostalgic memories like a good old video game. And PSX4droid was intended to do just that by letting one play some classic PSOne games on their Android smartphone. Unfortunately, many hearts were broken when Google pulled the app from the Android Market without prior warning. “Content policy violation” was vaguely said to be the reason behind Google's actions, but the real motive was most likely the announcement of the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY – the first Android smartphone that could run classic PSOne games (which users had to purchase, of course). PSX4droid is now open source and available for download free of charge.



Secret SMS Replicator

Spying on people? There was an app for that. Priced at $4.99, Secret SMS Replicator landed on the Android Market only to be banned in a matter of hours after its release. And rightfully so, as it could allow a jealous boyfriend or girlfriend to read their significant other's incoming text messages. All that had to be done was to install the app on the victim's Android phone where it would run unnoticed, with no icon or any indication of its existence, and forward received texts to a predefined number. You won't find it in the Android Market anymore, yet Secret SMS Replicator can be obtained directly from the developer's web page. Using it is going to cost you $19 per month.



Secret SMS Replicator (left) and Financial Times (right)
Secret SMS Replicator (left) and Financial Times (right)

Secret SMS Replicator (left) and Financial Times (right)

Financial Times 

As surprising as it may sound, the official Financial Times app for iOS got kicked out of the Apple App Store too. The reason for that was the dispute, which the publication and Apple got into. In a nutshell, while Financial Times made its revenue through user subscriptions, all of which it handled directly, Apple last year announced a change in its policies, which made it mandatory for all subscriptions to be processed through Apple. Neither of the two companies backed off. Somewhat ironically, Financial Times' iPad application won Apple's design award in 2010. And by the way, the Android app did not get affected in any way, so feel free to check it out.

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1. Gawain posted on 24 Jan 2012, 11:11 2

About that last item, the Financial Times, how do they get pinched, while the Wall Street Journal app operates the same way? My subscription to WSJ is handled directly through WSJ/Dow Jones, not through Apple.

Reply

3. remixfa posted on 24 Jan 2012, 11:28 1 3

more than likely the WSJ filters money back to apple for the trouble of.. being an app. lol

Reply

2. biophone posted on 24 Jan 2012, 11:28 6 1

8 people bought i am rich. 8 grand omg

Reply

4. remixfa posted on 24 Jan 2012, 11:29 3 2

im going to make a new app called "you are poor" for $1500 and have a picture of a bum floating around on the screen. see if anyone buys it. :)

Reply

23. biophone posted on 24 Jan 2012, 21:47

There is a good chance lol. (Tere is a good chance they will be poor afterwards to lol)

Reply

10. ladyhaly posted on 24 Jan 2012, 12:45 2 1

Yes. 8. 8 idiots who want to prove they are rich with an app instead of, say, buying 3 unbranded smartphones all at the same time.

Reply

16. iKingTrust (banned) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 14:53 1

I have it. Instalous

Reply

24. biophone posted on 24 Jan 2012, 21:48 1

You didn't spend a grand though lol.

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5. ilia1986 posted on 24 Jan 2012, 11:39 5 2

I want an app that installs ICS on my iPhone 4.

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6. remixfa posted on 24 Jan 2012, 11:42 4 5

its called the craigslist app. buy and sell :)

Reply

8. ilia1986 posted on 24 Jan 2012, 12:12 2 2

Never heard of an app which costs roughly 620$..

I guess I'll just wait for the SGS3 :)

Reply

25. biophone posted on 24 Jan 2012, 21:49

Jailbreak and do dream board should get something.

Reply

27. ilia1986 posted on 25 Jan 2012, 00:04 1

Nope. Tried it. Tried em all. It's like having a 10 year old kid draw alternative GUI. It's not even close.

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29. anywherehome posted on 25 Jan 2012, 05:06 1

buy Samsung Galaxy S II and you have widgets, statustbar, microsdhc, mass storage, perfect display on sunlight, bigger screen, very good battery life etc.

Reply

7. SuperAndroidEvo posted on 24 Jan 2012, 12:07 3

I just downloaded SpoofApp & pranked 3 people. Man it was so funny! lol

This is going to be all day fun! :-)

Reply

14. iKingTrust (banned) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 14:52 1

I just downloaded it too. i am having fun, lol

Reply

9. downphoenix posted on 24 Jan 2012, 12:23 2 5

spoofapp and secret sms replicator deserved to be banned, talk about dangerous apps. The rest were all banned for frivilous reasons.

Reply

11. McLTE posted on 24 Jan 2012, 13:19

There are other apps that do what secret SMS does.. backupSMS+ for instance will send all SMS and MMS messages to an email account where they can be read.

Spoof app, while dangerous does sound kind of funny to mess with. lol

Reply

17. downphoenix posted on 24 Jan 2012, 15:14

yea but the difference is, it doesnt run in secret.

Reply

12. iKingTrust (banned) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 13:26 2 1

This is why I love instalous. You can still get these apps there.

Reply

19. iKingTrust (banned) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 15:55

I bet I know who thumbs down this. haha you are so lame

Reply

26. biophone posted on 24 Jan 2012, 21:50

It wasn't me I promise. :) I have instalous too but don't use it. I get it from a good source though.

Reply

13. BioTek posted on 24 Jan 2012, 13:49 1

I Am Rich has to be the greatest app ever developed for both the Android operating system and iOS.

Reply

15. iKingTrust (banned) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 14:53

i have that app

Reply

18. downphoenix posted on 24 Jan 2012, 15:15

I bet piracy really hit that app's sales hard, only 8 sold?

Reply

20. iKingTrust (banned) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 15:55

yea it did

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21. medicci37 posted on 24 Jan 2012, 19:12

PSX4 droid link just takes me back to devs home page.

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22. BattleBrat posted on 24 Jan 2012, 21:23

Yeah I know, KICK IN THE NUTS!, That app was one I really wanted.

Reply

28. Nick_T posted on 25 Jan 2012, 01:53

Yeah, the developer's link does not work for some reason. However, googling the .apk filename returns some great results. Finding the BIOS files is not hard either.

Reply

31. protozeloz posted on 25 Jan 2012, 12:01

I have them all :D

Reply

30. Loafninja posted on 25 Jan 2012, 09:09

Grooveshark still exists on Android, in the form of Tinyshark, which streams, and Tinyshark downloader. They both access the full Grooveshark database of music, which is enormous, and both can make playlists and do searches straight through the app. It's also 100% free. Probably my favorite app there is, perioid.

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