Launch Center Pro Developer Asked To Remove Undocumented Apple APIs
by Dom Esposito
October 16, 2013
It’s no surprise that Apple is pretty strict about its API usage. In the past, apps have been completely removed from the App Store for violating developer guidelines and API usage. Unfortunately, another popular app has been affected by Apple’s strict API policies.
Launch Center Pro is a great app that helps you automate various tasks on your iOS device. We’ve covered this app several times in the past and it’s definitely a staff favorite.
Recently, its developer David Barnard was contacted by Apple due to his use of certain “undocumented APIs” in Launch Center Pro. As MacRumors notes, the developer explained the situation on Twitter:
Apple called to let me know that we are using “undocumented APIs” in @launchcenterpro and that we need to remove certain Apple app URLs. [1] The URLs will still work, but we have to remove Calendar, FaceTime, FaceTime Audio, GameCenter, Music, Passbook, Videos, Reminders, and iTMS. [2] To be clear, these URLs will work just fine unless Apple actually removes them from their respective apps. [3] All of those URLs have one thing in common, they are apps that ship with iOS. Apple apps in the App Store seem to still be fair game. [4] And to be fair, those URLs *are* technically undocumented. I’m not even sure how they were discovered by people who shared them with us. [5]It’s a shame that some of these "APIs" or URLs need to be removed, but at the same time, I guess this is what happens when developers don’t follow Apple's silly golden rules. The URLs are not officially documented by Apple and apparently they got a little upset that someone was using them in a third party app. Launch Center Pro was recently updated with a brand new design, icon, and a lot of new features, but it looks like Apple's recent request will affect some of that added functionality. In my opinion, it’s kind of silly that Launch Center Pro will lose a bit of native functionality because of these undocumented app URLs, but hopefully it won’t impact its users too much. Launch Center Pro is available in the App Store for $4.99.
