source: The Verge
Photo messaging service disables unofficial API to increase security
Microsoft has removed
a host of third-party Snapchat alternatives from its Windows Phone
store after the photo messaging service indicated that it would start
cracking down on unofficial apps in a bid to tighten security. Rudy
Huyn, the developer of popular Windows Phone Snapchat alternative
6snap, confirmed on Twitter that his app — and all other third-party Snapchat apps previously available on Microsoft's operating system — had been removed.
There's no official Snapchat app for Windows Phone
In a blog post written in November,
the company said that while it had "enjoyed some of the ways developers
have tried to make Snapchat better," some creators had built services
that would compromise the user's security. Snapchat has come under fire
from security researchers and developers who argue that the company's security is too lax
and user information is accessible through a widely circulated
unofficial API. As part of a new effort to counter these claims, Windows Central reports that Snapchat has also threatened to lock the accounts of some people who have continued to use third-party alternatives.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that the apps
were removed at Snapchat's request "following Snapchat's decision to
disable APIs used by third party apps across platforms." It's not clear
why Microsoft is taking the Snapchat-a-likes down themselves, but with
no official Snapchat app on the Windows Phone store, their removal means
users of Microsoft's mobile operating system now have no way to access
the photo messaging service on their phones.
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