And the stupidity continues: Apple yanks WiFi scanner apps…

  • March 4, 2010 10:18 am

Apparently ruffling the feathers of countless devs and customers over the whole Boobie Ban of 2010 wasn’t enough. Besides, if you sit there long enough, you could rationalize that porn really isn’t that big of a market. But what about something more useful, say WiFi scanning apps? While bare bones basic WiFi scanning is built into the phone for when connecting to a WiFi network, there are numerous WiFi scanner apps that divulge a slew of helpful information regarding IP addresses, DNS’s, etc. etc.

Apparently Apple has a problem with them, particularly because of a private API that a number of these apps were using. Solution: rip them all out of the App Store. Brilliant idea. /sarcasm. To be clear, GPS and database driven apps are still in the all clear. It is the apps which actively scan for networks on their own that are getting the axe.

I can somewhat understand removing xxx rated apps from the App Store (even considering the parental controls already built into the device and platform), but just because a private API is used — really? From the WiFi scanners I’ve seen so far, I’ve never seen anything malicious or shifty in what the app did. So why get all anal about it?

And since we’re at it, if this was such a big deal, why the hell wasn’t this private API caught the first time around? Seeing as how there are dozens of WiFi scanner apps being yanked, it’s not like it was simple oversight on a single app.

…and another shot in the foot for Apple…

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  • http://twitter.com/rcrockett/status/9981969022 Roy Crockett

    And the stupidity continues: Apple yanks WiFi scanner apps… http://bit.ly/dxlLlL

  • R2D2

    R2D2 here,
    Apple can posture all they want. First it’s sue HTC and now shut down WiFi apps. The Android revolution has just begun. Soon Jobs will go thru the entire competitive cycle and come to “acceptance.” Every Borg knows that. Within two of your earth years, the Android army will have marched over your planet. You heard it here first!

    I’m R2D2 and I know my Droids!!!