Nary a year goes by without something going wrong. Some developers
simply don’t get it right, new policies screw things up, or companies
just do stupid things. While it is inconvenient, it is also wildly
entertaining. We kept track of some of the bigger oopsies of 2017 from
developers across Google Play as well as Google Play itself in some
cases. Thus, here are the biggest flubs, most controversial apps and
games, and other bad ideas from the Play Store in 2017!
Accessibility API crackdown
Google
decided to crack down on its Accessibility API during the last two
months of 2017. The intent was improving security because the
Accessibility API is so powerful and far reaching in Android.
Unfortunately, that also spelled trouble for some seriously popular
apps, including LastPass (and other password managers), Nova Launcher
(and other launcher apps), Greenify, and many others. The backlash was
fairly intense. Currently, Google is taking a step back to re-evaluate
their decision about the Accessibility API. Unfortunately, that means we
won't see a resolution to this one until 2018. Hit the button above to
learn more!
Bixby Remap apps and Bixby in general
Price: Free
Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 lineup of
devices in 2017. They all came with a Bixby button and, of course,
trouble ensued. Bixby remapping apps became big news in early and mid
2017 when people noticed that the button could not otherwise be
disabled. Samsung eventually allowed people to disable the button
entirely, fixing the initial problem. In addition, Bixby itself had its
share of issues. Namely, different Galaxy devices having different
versions that were capable of different things. Samsung fixed most of
these issues by now. However, it was a fairly shaking summer and launch
for Bixby and Samsung.
Color by Disney
Price: Free / $33.99 per year
Color
by Disney is easily one of the most controversial apps from 2017. It's a
coloring book app and it should've been a really good one. However,
Disney thought it'd be a good idea to charge a subscription rate for the
the content. Basically, you get a few images for free. The rest require
a monthly, yearly or weekly subscription charge. We're all about
developers making money. However, there is a line that developers should
not cross. Color by Disney crossed it. It doesn't help that the free
version is extremely restrictive. It's also an app for kids. That
doesn't help either. Disney really screwed the pooch with this one and
their Google Play rating reflects that.
Google Assistant
Price: Free
Google
Assistant had its share of problems in 2017. It officially launched in
2017 to non-Google devices. That is, of course, unless you own a tablet.
Then you didn't get squat. Additionally, Google included better
versions of Google Assistant on their Google Home devices. It was to the
point where the phone version couldn't do basic things like cast video
or order a pizza, but the Google Home versions could. Finally, that
whole Burger King ad thing was hilarious. Google fixed many of these
issues. For instance, Assistant is now available on tablets as of early
December. Still, they have a long way to go.
Magisk
Manager was removed suddenly from the Google Play Store in early June
2017. The app does a lot of things. However, its hallmark feature is
allowing apps like Android Pay, Netflix, Pokemon Go, and others to run
on rooted devices. Google and various apps are getting less friendly for
those with rooted devices. Magisk kind of bridged that increasingly
wide gap. Its removal made a lot of root users quite angry. The
developers continue to develop the app on their official site (linked
above). In Google's defense, Magisk did actually violate the Google Play
ToS. However, it wouldn't have to if apps weren't so restrictive to
root users. There's a push and pull here that's far from over. Magisk
was just one of the bigger moments in it.
MAKEAPP
Price: Free / $0.99
MAKEAPP
is one of those controversial apps where you don't know what's really
happening. The app is fairly basic. It uses AI to remove makeup from
people's faces. The developer claims the app is meant to remove makeup
from the faces of people in the sex trade so law enforcement can
identify them more easily. The public version of the app apparently
helps train the AI toward that goal. However, a statistically
insignificant number of rather obnoxious men claim the app is most
useful for taking the makeup off of women to see what they may be
hiding. The backlash was intense anger with the developer taking most of
the vitriol. This despite the relatively small number of idiots using
the app for bad things. We're not here to make judgments either way,
just to deliver the facts. The fact is that a lot of people really hate a
lot of the people who use this app.
MLB Perfect Inning Live
Price: Free with in-app purchases
MLB
Perfect Inning Live isn't a horrible game. Its release wasn't great,
though. Developers GAMEVIL removed their previous game from Google Play
upon the release of Perfect Inning Live. There was little to no warning,
either. This usually isn't a big deal, except they didn't give players a
way to restore purchases or transfer progress to the new game. That
means everyone who spent their time or money in the previous game
suddenly had nothing left. It's unreasonable to expect a developer to
keep developing a game forever. However, a little warning, progress
transfer, or maybe removing the in-app purchases from their now-dead
game would've helped the transition go over better.
Sarahah
Price: Free
Sarahah
was one of the most controversial apps of the year and we're not sure
why. The premise is simple enough. You make a profile, people
anonymously send their thoughts about you, and you get honest feedback
about yourself. The developer made the app for work place feedback. That
way people could honestly tell others what they thought. Unfortunately,
people are people and, thus, this app ended up in the hands of a bunch
of impressionable kids and maladjusted adults who can say what they want
anonymously. We take it back, we totally get why this ended up being as
controversial as it did.
Uber
Price: Free / Rides cost money
Uber
is a shoo in for this list every year. They're not a bad company by
most measurements. However, they do seem to cause several uproars a
year. So let's start. They were accused at one point of renting out
faulty cars in Singapore. Drivers around the world staged multiple
strikes for multiple reasons. The one time Uber didn't engage in a
strike, Twitter called for people to delete it forever. They are
currently banned in the UK after safety concerns. Finally, Uber finished
off 2017 by finally disclosing a major data breach from 2016 where they
paid the hackers money to cover it up. We can't wait to see what they
cook up in 2018.
UC Browser
Price: Free
UC
Browser was one of many apps to suddenly disappear from Google Play
this year. Generally, we eventually find out why apps disappear. To
date, no one's really sure why UC Browser went down (and eventually came
back up). Theories ranged from malicious ads that generated downloads
to a simple issue with the Google Play ToS. Google hasn't commented on
the matter and neither has UC Browser developers. For now, the theory
that they used malicious advertising is the reigning champion for what
really happened.
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