Don't uninstall Swapchat; developer pulls app due to copyright request

By Rich Edmonds
published

Well this is certainly a real bummer, folks. Swapchat, the popular unofficial Snapchat app for Windows Phone, has been pulled due to a copyright complaint filed by Snapchat. While there's the potential good news of an official client on the way for Microsoft's platform, until that day comes consumers are going to be stuck with no third party alternative.

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If you still have Swapchat installed, it's reported that all is okay and you can continue using the service as normal. If you haven't, you're going to have to wait for an official Snapchat app to be released. We'll keep you all in the loop with what's happening in the realm of Snapchat, but if tweets published by the SRC Apps team are to be taken seriously, we won't have to wait long.

Source: Twitter (SRC Apps); Thanks to everyone who tipped us!

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

119 Comments
  • You know...if you want to make a social network, and you block a ¼ of your customer base because of their cellular choice, you should be f'n thrilled someone built the bridge for you. If this was a game or something I get it. But people are trying to use your service and your stopping them from it because they refuse to over pay for f'n fruit. Apple has manipulated all these third party clowns to a point they are 20x worse than what they ever accused Microsoft of. I get that this isn't directly about Apple, but in the end it is all about those rat bastards. If Microsoft was sitting in the same boat as them, Apple would be screaming monopoly again and the courts would be discussing the forceful breaking up of the music/itunes service from the iPod and iPad manufacturing. That is ten times a bigger monopoly than anything Microsoft has ever done. People have so much invested in music and apps that can only be used on ipads or ipods. As a result peoplerefyse to leave those brands because it would leave to much money in a dead library. As a result idiots like swapchat cater to this crap over there. The whole thing is a racket.
  • LOL @ "rat bastards" :D
  • An app for snapchat is coming soon anyway
  • No offense, but I don't care. I'm tired of all these third party clowns sniffing Apple's balls. Microsoft was dragged through the courts for shipping windows with IE installed, and yet so much of this crap goes on? This is the same thing in reverse.
  • Yah man but i spent 99 cents on it.
     
  • But until then... I have a huge fear now of accidentally uninstalling!! I use swapchat hourly!
  • "THIS... IS... SPARTA!!!!!" Seriously, I pretty much agree with what you're saying. The different standard MS is held to is ridiculous.
  • This is what I don't get wtf is it with tech companies? Other business always are looking for a way to enter and untapped market hell even drug dealers look for other corners to push whatever they push but these tech companies play favorites like it a high school lunch room
  • Its baffling ain't it. Why would you not make an app? MS even made it possible to pretty much direct port from ios. And blackberry made it rediculusly easy to get your android app on their platform. Yet they don't. They sit there in their ivory towers supping champers and crying over old photos of Steve jobs.
  • Good points.  Makes me wonder if Microsoft had to pay Snapchat to develop the app; if so, to me, it's just borderline extortion.
     
    I don't use this service, or even Instagram, but I am less inclined to use apps that, are so popular on other platforms but wouldn't  make an appearance on WP without 'holding out' for a possible payoff by Microsoft.  I guess I just respect a developer that makes apps for WP of his/her/their own volition.  Yes, I know Microsoft is offering to pay developers, but still :)
  • ++1
  • I love your comment.
  • I wonder why they had to pull it vs. just renaming it. It's not really copyright infringement anyway, more trademark infringement.
  • Unauthorized API use....
  • You can't copyright APIs, so that can't be the cause of the infringement. Most companies just slap you with a C&D because you can't afford to go to court.
  • Of course you can copyright your API. Read Instagram ToS.
  • You should check out what copyright actually means
  • This is just a random article but
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/01/oracle-google-api-decision-free
    Judge says you cannot copyright an API. 
     
    Not saying this is relevent here, but as a sweeping statement.
  • App Envy? Perhaps it's better than the offical app coming and they want it removed so Snapchat's official app will be the only choice.
  • Uninstalled 4 days ago. I don't use it anyway.
  • 2 days ago lol oh well
  • I think I even paid for it... Refund?
  • Totally agre.
  • What? For $2? IMO that's really cheap of you to ask. They worked hard on it and you should've expected that this was coming. If you have a real issue, contact Snapchat and request the real application on the platform. Don't blame the developer.
  • Agree with Jake 100%. Obnoxiously cheap and pathetic to ask for a $2.00 refund.  I'm generally friendly on this site, but that is so effing weak...
  • yep refund should be coming, it only cost a doller but thr auther was using somethingf he shouldnt have been using not my fault, bet he mad a bomb before it was pulled 
  • And you downloaded somethign you shouldn't have... It clearly stated that they were not part of Snapchat nor had anything to do with snapchat and it was clear that this could happen at any given moment. Go cry somewhere else for your 2$.
  • So.. I'll hold off on the Lumia 1020 until further notice...
  • Dude what? You won't get the phone because you can't put that 41MP camera to use on snapchat?
  • It is is important to get high resolution images for sexting while ensuring 10 second secrecy I guess. Lol
  • Is it so small that the 1020 zoom feature is needed?
  • LOL!
  • Haha..Best comment ever.
  • That is freak'n funny
  • Lol
  • BURNED!! hahaha
  • He is most likely talking about the lack of official applications compared to the other OS's..
  • Maybe, but the secondary discussion is more fun. :)
  • The "ill wait" argument against lack of 1st party apps is retarded.
    If everyone jumped on the 3rd party ones, you would see lots more 1st party. Just look at twitter, they pulled their fingers out. Also, its not windows phones fault that devs only care about the device they have in their hands, and not those in the hands of untapped markets
  • Aww this is a shame, I like to use it occasionally.
    Will never uninstall.
    Nev3r 5get.
  • *4get?
  • Chapsnat
  • Snatchapp
  • Catchnsnappy
  • This is what happens when you use private APIs. This is why WP needs 1st party apps, not 3rd party ones.
  • I've always wondered this... Is there such a thing as a second party app?
  • Maybe the Facebook App from Microsoft. It's not an official one, but an App where both have a contract.
  • Yeah, that would make sense.
  • No. Just like there's no such thing as a 2nd person narrative, or a 2nd person perspective/POV.
  • There is a second person view though.... Its when the audience is directly spoken to.... Like Dora the Explorer. "Are you happy this morning?"
  • You're thinkng of the fourth wall.
  • You're thinking of the fourth wall.
  • What? No. First person is "I, me", second is "you", third is "he, she, they". Are English classes this bad now that kids don't even know what second person is?
  • I think the term 1st party is kind of misused. Wouldn't 1st party be from Microsoft? 2nd party from a service provider and 3rd party from a non affiliated developer.
  • I think its to hard to tell because there is a software maker: Microsoft; and a hardware maker (who also builds software): Nokia(Etc) Perhaps Second party would be considered OEMs.
  • I always thought the second person is the user. In ToSes, the first person is usually the company and the second, the user. In the case of making apps, there is a third party coming into the picture.
  • 1st party is the company, 2nd is an independent who's unofficially wholly exclusive to the company, 3rd is independent. For example, look at Playstation: Sony Studios is 1st, Thatgamecompany is 2nd, EA is 3rd. So in phone apps, MS is 1st, Nokia would be 2nd and Pandora would be third...BUT as far as one single app property? I don't think there's a 2nd or 3rd party. I'd just say official and unofficial. Ultimately it's all semantics.
  • Kind of a shame.  I have never used the service, but others do.  Will not understand why they would do this without having an app of their own.  It would make a lot more sense to tell swapcaht that they can operate until the official app comes.
  • That would be logical. And we all know what that means these days. Logical thought patterns might be found in a single Person, but most companies are not able to utilize these thought patterns. Douchebag patterns are the most common ones found within companies
  • I agree or have them change the name or logo if it is too similar.
  • What about David Gary's app?
  • He abandoned this project, and seems like he already has abandoned Instance too... :/
  • Where have you heard this?
  • read my comment bellow.
  • This is how rumours get started, then people use it to attack platforms *AND* it affects a developer's reputation.  Undoubtedly, someone will see this comment, and mention it somewhere else, either as a quote, or a 'fact', or even as a question 'Is this true?'.   And if one out of 100 people continue that cycle, you end up with uncertainty, doubt, and more.
    If you follow his twitter feed, you can see what's going on.  It's unfortunate that many people expect independent developers to have everything figured out/solved/fixed in a week, when it takes companies months and longer.
    Daniel Gary and other independent developers are doing the work, by themselves, during their spare time (most have full time day jobs to ensure they can have a decent life and retirement).
    And sure, a week long gap in twitter posts might seem long, but considering that break took place during a holiday week, it doesn't even seem odd.
    I don't even use Instagram, but I do know the hard work that Daniel Gary, and others have put into creating top notch experiences for WP8.
    Please be mindful when posting thoughts and opinions if you haven't spent the time or resources to find the answer.  For all anyone knows, he could have had a busy week at work, a wonderful camping vacation with no electronics, or even a stint in a mental hospital with all the stress of making his app work perfectly.  That doesn't even include things like being located in cities that have no power due to flooding, explosions, gas leaks, and other natural disasters.  There are lots of reasons someone might seem to 'disconnect' for a short period of time, and last week's Talk Mobile discussion put the 'always connected' social media craze to task.
     
     
  • ^
  • The app for the Snapchat that Daniel had spoken to do was Yes cancelled. And it was he himself who said this in a comment on an article about the Swapchat here on WPCentral. He said he would offer the developer of the Swapchat part of the code it to "search for contacts" because he wouldn't use anymore.
      Before I talk about anything here I search Yes on the hard work that he, and many others are doing. I follow him on Twitter, I follow all the materials that come out about the Instance in various sites and I've tried to contact him several times for questions here in the comments of the WP Central,  by tweets and at least 3 times by e-mail. And he never answered me in any way! And many other users complain of the same thing! It does not support users. The only people he meets are famous people who can help him make the Instance have more prominence and more money, as the writers of WP and The Verge. And that to me is the worst part, because WE were the ones who bought the application of it, we did to be successful in the Store! And a lot of us, like me for example, helped publicize the Instance when it was released! And I am very sad because in no time I tried to contact he replied!
      Many other developers of other excellent applications actually give support to your users! I keep in touch with many of them and they are always attentive. That's what for me is a real support.
      And that is why for me he abandoned the Instance app. Because for me there is no point developing something if after this he ignores users who bought your application.  
  • Not sure if he abandoned the app, but I am also one of those who reported issues (in Instance) via Twitter but got no response. Maybe he's aware of the issue (I'm sure many others must have brought it to his attention) and he'd rather work on fixing it than replying to every individual tweet? But I won't lie, I appreciate devs who reply to consumers' tweets, especially when they report issues.
  • Firstly, I'd like to apologize for seeming overly 'angry', and although it was a response to your comment, it wasn't meant to be directed *AT* you.
     
    Also I forgot to mention that I was specifically talking about instance.  It wasn't the part about his snapchat app I was referring to, but rather the "and seems like he already has abandoned Instance too... :/"
     
    Who knows if he works 40 hours, 60 hours, 80 hours a week?  He has a family, and young children.  He probably gets thousands of mails a day.  I used to answer hundreds a day, and eventually realized that posting an update here and there was way less time consuming, and a LOT less stressful.  I *HOPE* that he wasn't in a hospital during this time, or working so hard he's not spending any time with his family (let alone solving problems in his app).  I know he's going to get it done, and I know he appreciates all the support he's received.
     
    In his Twitter feed, on July 2nd, he mentioned that he was working on Instagram Video and apologized for the 'radio silence'.  I see you responded to him then.  Yesterday (July 12th) he responded to the person who accused him of ditching it.  It was 10 days after his last update, during which a large 4 day holiday occurred.  This is the part that bothered me.  Even if he was gone 2 full weeks with no holiday weekend in there - he's an individual, with a full time job, with a full time family, and he's producing and trying to fix things that take large companies upwards of 20-26 weeks.
     
    We tend to be spoiled by the independent developers, and it makes us impatient.  I check things dozens of times a day to see if anything has changed, but it still doesn't make things go faster, as much as I'd like it to :).
     
     
  • I never tried it, but what a shame.
  • It was a stupid app. No loss here.
  • Yeah, how many different ways to people need to communicate with each other? It's just insane.
  • Was the developer making any money off the app? An easy way to fix the problem would be for Snapchat to demand a cut of what Swapchat makes. But instead, they engaged the douchebag mode.
  • You're on a role today Rich! You the only one working? :P
  • Whelp, when it breaks, it breaks, which will probably be soon. So much for that. Why don't we have an official app for this yet?
  • I don't use it, but it's bullshit that they can do this without having their own app existing on this platform
  • I agree liammatho.. There probably p*seed because WP version was better
  • Aha, it was a pretty clean app
  • Definitely wasn't a better app than ios and android.
  • I bought the app to support the developer, but if I'm honest, I haven't discovered the Swapchat/Snapchat bug. Maybe I'll keep it installed in case I'm ever single again. ;)
  • Snap chat is RETARDED!! why do people use this garbage??
  • Haha, it is probably used amongst teens who like to share pictures of their privates. Modern world issues, I guess.
  • Lol probably. Isn't it the same thing as using Facebook?
  • The developers who get stiffed by official apps should recognize this as a great opportunity, let me explain how: SRC Apps, Daniel Gary, Rudy Huyn, etc should share code and tricks whenever they winbreak a generic version of an official app. This will lessen their effort upfront and allow generics to hit the WP store much faster. Their naming should always be dangerously close to the official (Swapchat, Viner, Itsdagram, etc...They should cycle rapidly through user feedback on user voice and improve what they can within 3rd party limitations. The user base that comes along to support them helps validate the app for the official guys. Trust me, Twitter was watching Rudy Huyn's 6Sec. Microsoft and Nokia should kick in some cash to the devs every time the official takeover happens. This will grow the platform because you get the dev, the market testing, validation and a nominal payout (say, $50-100k) for top tier apps. I believe this setup would align incentives without forcing awkward conversations. Why?
    (a) $50-100k is real money to indie developers, it's nothing to Microsoft and Nokia, and it wouldn't work as an inducement to an official app to build for WP (they care more about user engagement)
    (b) No official party would ever agree to pay an indie developer for something they officially own. This is what makes conversations challenging. Legal would never sign it off happily.
    (c) Lessening the effort of winbreakers is the key so they don't slog for months to the point where a $50-100k payoff isn't worth it.
    (d) The WP community can help by beta testing the heck out of the apps with the knowledge that our feedback and engagement is what will drive the growth of the platform. this is ultimately guerilla growth. Microsoft and Nokia can continue their corporate discussions to woo the official apps while pointing to the engagement intensity inside WP as evidence of the market opportunity. And finally, when those negotiations bear fruit, the indie doesn't feel like Microsoft and Nokia screwed him over. Hope this makes sense to someone.
  • Makes perfect sense to me. Especially when the official providers (e.g. Google) claim that WP is not large enough to bother making an app for, but will jump up and try to shutdown Microsoft's YouTube app because now WP usage of the app happens to be large enough to be large enough to disrupt their advertising system
  • Anybody has the XAP file for this Swapchat app?
  • http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/1i8f47/so_you_uninstalled_...
  • Ah, shame. but it's still better for me to wait.
  • Probably because since snapchat did the screenshot notification update nobody wants to use it
  • Come on! Where the hell is Wells Fargo?
  • So does this mean that I shouldn't update the app? Just curious..
  • I don't think you'll be seeing anymore updates. You also shouldn't uninstall either.
  • I do! I'm a little worried if I should update or not.
  • This seriously sucks I use this app all the time. :-/ Glad I have it still installed. Even worse for people who paid.
  • Is this because snapchat is close to hitting the marketplace? Daniel said snapchat was coming in July.
  • This sucks 1000 Camel ^*&@.
  • Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. But then again that could mean an official one is coming soon. I hope so. How else am I going to get my expiring pictures? ;)
  • Yeah the same as they said with the YouTube app... It isn't going to happen on short terms.
  • I just don't get it. This is the same as YouTube and their app. O wait, they don't have their own app! Yanking about copyrights but not deliver an app for their own services by themselves? Come on...
  • Well I just installed it yesterday so I suppose I'm in the good for now, don't know if I will actually use it though!
  • How do I get my refund?
  • Exactly, i'm wondering this too. I guess in hindsight it's not too smart to purchase an App that's unoffcial, but i still wanted to show my support.
    Guess we'll just have to take this one on the chin and learn a lesson, it was pretty cheap anyway and if it made Snapchat take notice and build their own, that can't be bad.
     
  • The app still works, it just doesn't get new updates.
  • I hope the official app will be out in a week's time then!
  • Pretty useless idea anyway. Snapchat has no use.
  • Well, this is what 3.5% market share gets us...
  • Check this out! You can still get it! http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/1i8f47/so_you_uninstalled_...
  • Probably will not work, like mentioned in the comments section of that article.
  • Is this posted elsewhere? My phone broke so I got a replacement and want to redownload.
  • Not exactly unexpected but you'd think if they'd go to the effort of blocking a 3rd party app they'd realise there was demand for it and make a 1st party one.
  • So, when is the official Snapchat coming, then? You said this month with 9 out of 10 on the rom-o-meter, right?
  • Well I decided to go and ask them what gives... https://twitter.com/Paladinleeds/status/356395907337560064
  • What about Snpachat unofficial? isn't that one still out? or was it pulled out too....
  • Then give us Snapchat! So sick of this crap.
  • Why won't someone just upload the xap? Unless there's more to it than that.
  • As the marketplace entry has been pulled, once you try and install it, the XAP file checks the marketplace, sees the item has been removed, and won't install. Don't you think having a developer unlocked device will help either. As it's signed we can't deploy it using application deployed for developers either.
  • So can I have my money back if I paid for the app?
  • Snapchat developers can suck my dick. Either put out, or shut up. 
  • Ahh just hard reset my phone :/ Ooops