Earlier today I went into iTunes and headed for the App store. I had a reason for this, I wanted to check whether the school app had been updated. It's listed on the Appmakr website as "In review by Apple", so I gathered it was close to either going live (hopefully) or being rejected (hopefully not!).
I had an unexpected shock though. When I typed "porchester" in the iTunes search tool, expecting to see a link to our app, I saw - nothing. There was no app listed at all. A general error I thought, so tried again. Same result. No app called "porchester" was in their database.
Initially I thought this meant that the original app had been removed, and the new app was going to be available momentarily. Great news, and I left it for the afternoon.
This evening when I checked back, still nothing. It seemed as though the porchester app had been removed from existence, completely.
I did a quick check to see whether the app was still listed under "pointabout" (the name Appmakr submitted it under) but nothing. I saw Mark Warners Teaching UK app that he recently launched, but I was unable to see 2Simples own app that was also recently launched. Something strange was going on.
I contacted @2SimpleAnt to mention it to him, and he sent me a reply that the direct link to the app from their website was working. Checking the direct link on the school website to the app, I discovered that yes, the school app is still in the store, but not available through a search.
Now why would this be? The cynic in me says that Apple are doing a cull. Maybe they are removing lots of recently created apps that they deem to be too specific - after all a message from them on the Appmakr website recently explained reasons for apps being rejected as;
Limited Audience - Apple has a tendency to reject Apps that appeal to a limited number of people or groups. Examples of Apps that fit into this category are Apps for a specific schools, specific places of worship, and local sports teams.
Minimal Content/Functionality - When the App does not have enough information to justify the App, Apple may reject the App based on "minimal content" or "minimal functionality".
Could this be a very sly way of preparing to remove more apps? Remove the search ability so that no one can find the app, then remove the app and claim it had a limited audience?
I am hoping that I am wrong here. I don't want to discover that the school app was removed for not being commercial enough. I was hoping that this could be the start of something new. A new way to ensure that our pupils / parents / friends and wider community could see the good work we're doing in the school. I was hoping it might lead to other schools creating their own apps too (I know a few schools that have built one, but as yet they are not listed in the store).
Apple, if you are reading, please don't bar schools from creating their own apps as a way to communicate with people. We might not have the user base of the *hilarious* farting apps or the *entertaining* semi-clad women apps you are happy to list, but school apps provide a much more valuable service.
