Apple & Google clash over “Android” in the App Store

And the Apple-Google war continues. This time, instead of just bad-mouthing each other, Apple is running with a strategy that they’re no stranger to: censoring words in the App Store. Instead of just “boobs” and “booty”, which they don’t seem to have a problem with anymore, Apple’s new target is the word “Android”.

Now, Apple only seems to be looking for the word used within a particular context. A quick look through the App Store reveals a decent number of apps with “Android” in the title that have gone totally unscathed. However, at least one developer in particular has had their app held up pending removal of an Android reference. In its preview Tim Novikof’s Flash of Genius SAT app made mention of the fact that it was a finalist in Google’s Android Developers Challenge, and Apple had him remove the offending snippet before it could go live. Apple’s justification?

“providing future platform compatibility plans or other general platform references are not relevant in the context of the iPhone App Store.”

Novikof reportedly didn’t mind having to pull the reference, but it’s crazy that a developer would have to remove a recommendation (and a weighty one at that) just because Apple doesn’t like who it came from.

[via AppScout]