Controversies

Applications are subject to approval by Apple, as outlined in the SDK agreement, for basic reliability testing and other analysis. The rejection of applications has been subject to much discussion in the press. A particular example, documented in the agreement itself, is that applications must not duplicate the functions of the iPhone itself, for example by providing an email interface,[25] or having the same elements as the built in SMS app [26] however applications have also been rejected for duplicating the functionality of iTunes.[27] Applications may be rejected if they are of only "limited utility".[28] Some reports indicate that toolbars must be placed at the bottom of the screen, and the vibration function should only be used for alerts.[29] Applications may still be distributed "ad-hoc" if they are rejected, by the author manually submitting a request to Apple to license the application to individual iPhones,[30] although Apple may withdraw the ability for authors to do this at a later date.[31] NDA restrictions have always forbidden developers from publishing the content of their rejection notices, but Apple has now started labeling their rejection letters with Non-Disclosure (NDA) warning THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE.[32] Apple later changed the NDA citing that "it has created too much of a burden on developers"[33] but they did not reverse the decision to forbid publication of rejection notices.[34] Some applications are not available outside the US App Store at the request of the developer.[35]