Attack of the Clones: Apple and Google Now Rejecting Apps with "Flappy" in Title
App developers hoping to make a quick buck piggybacking on the Flappy Bird craze that somehow has been able to simultaneously entertain and frustrate scores of gamers will have to be at least a little more creative than building an obvious clone and calling it "Flappy" something or other. In an attempt to fend off a barrage of clones, it appears both Apple and Google are now rejecting games with "Flappy" in the title.
The folks at TechCrunch went and collected a handful of Twitter posts from developers claiming their apps (or apps from people they know) were denied entrance into iTunes or Google Play because they used "Flappy" in the title. For example, Ken Carpenter of Mind Juice Media from Vancouver says Apple turned down his "Flappy Dragon" app with a note telling him "we found your app name attempts to leverage a popular app."
Google also appears to be cracking down on clones, though what's interesting is that the original Flappy Birds game that started this phenomenon is no longer available in either store -- developer Dong Nguyen removed his game from both app stores due to all the media attention and to cure us all of our addiction to the game, or so he claims. It was a shocking move because his decision came just days after he revealed Flappy Birds was generating over $50,000 per day through in-game adds.
In any event, there are tons of Flappy Bird clones out there, you just might have to look a little harder to find some of them. Also be advised that outside of official app stores, malware writers are taking advantage of Flappy Bird's popularity by making available clones with malicious code buried inside.
The folks at TechCrunch went and collected a handful of Twitter posts from developers claiming their apps (or apps from people they know) were denied entrance into iTunes or Google Play because they used "Flappy" in the title. For example, Ken Carpenter of Mind Juice Media from Vancouver says Apple turned down his "Flappy Dragon" app with a note telling him "we found your app name attempts to leverage a popular app."
Google also appears to be cracking down on clones, though what's interesting is that the original Flappy Birds game that started this phenomenon is no longer available in either store -- developer Dong Nguyen removed his game from both app stores due to all the media attention and to cure us all of our addiction to the game, or so he claims. It was a shocking move because his decision came just days after he revealed Flappy Birds was generating over $50,000 per day through in-game adds.
In any event, there are tons of Flappy Bird clones out there, you just might have to look a little harder to find some of them. Also be advised that outside of official app stores, malware writers are taking advantage of Flappy Bird's popularity by making available clones with malicious code buried inside.
