It’s not every day Google dusts off the trusty old ban hammer and squashes an Android app. After all, the Android Market is an open one, where any developer can bring any app to the masses — almost. Mobile developer DLP Mobile launched an app earlier this week that performed a pretty questionable function; it allowed users to spy on SMS messages by having them automatically and secretly forwarded from a host phone to their own cell phone. The app, dubbed Secret SMS Replicator, was added to the Android Market Wednesday and it almost immediately caused a stir. Before long, Google exercised its ultimate authority and removed Secret SMS Replicator from the Market, saying the app “violates the Android Market Content Policy.” While the removal of this malicious app is seen as a positive move by most, some question whether or not Google’s actions push the Internet giant further away from the “open” descriptor it loves to boast. Most would likely agree, however, that leaving spyware in the Android Market would certainly have been the greater of two evils.
[Via Switched]
