The top grossing app in the iMessage App Store is about to be officially banned by Apple for allowing users to send “prank” blue message bubbles that put words in your friend’s mouth.
[contextly_auto_sidebar] The clever sticker app called Phoneys shot to the top of the App Store rankings this week. The app provides users with a bunch of pre-written text bubbles that makes it look like the recipient just said something embarrassing, such as “I don’t know what I’m talking about,” or “How do you always look so amazing?”
Even though Apple approved the app, it wasn’t pleased when Phoneys became the top grossing app. You can still download Phoneys, but the iPhone-maker has threatened to pull it off the store if changes aren’t made.
“Apple’s lawyers weren’t happy that Phoneys got through the review process,” said Adam Howell, the developer behind Phoney’s. “The stickers couldn’t be blue or green, they couldn’t use San Francisco as the typeface, and the app could no longer be marketed as a ‘prank’ app, because Apple doesn’t approve prank apps.”
Howell never marketed the app as a prank app, though people who shared the app certainly got it immediately. There are currently 28 different stickers that you can send. More were going to be added, but Howell says he conflicted over whether he should update it to conform to Apple’s demands.
If you want to try Phoneys out before its gone, you can still grab it before Apple pulls it.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
25 responses to “Apple plans to ban the top paid iMessage sticker app”
Oh boo hoo. Jeez. Getting rid of the gun emoji and now we can’t play pranks on friends. Didn’t know Apple was part of the PC police.
Of course you knew but you buy their stuff anyway.
jOn, you obviously despise Apple (and you’re quite within your rights to do so), and yet you spend your days endlessly posting negative comments underneath articles on a website devoted to that selfsame company. A genuine question: Have you considered getting therapy or treatment for your mental illness?
So lemme get this straight, I can’t criticize apple but you can?
Worship of cellphones or a company logo is a clear sign of mental illness so maybe you should take your own advice.
OK, jOn. You’re obviously completely unhinged and have a limited reading ability. At no point did I say that you can’t criticise Apple – quite the opposite, in fact (reread my comment) – and you seem to have conjured up this idea that I worship “cellphones or a company logo” out of thin air (evidence, please?). But if you get great enjoyment from posting comments underneath articles about a company you have no interest in (if that isn’t a sign of mental illness, I don’t know what is) then, please, carry on :)
I usually benefit something like 6 thousand-8 thousand bucks a month on the internet. For anyone prepared to work simple at home tasks for few hrs /a day from ease of your home and gain decent income in the same time… Then this task is for you… KORTA.NU/NDe
Here you are at “Cult” of Mac offended that I don’t worship as you do?
Mental health, really?
Again jOn, you can’t keep saying I “worship” Apple without some evidence. If your “evidence” is that I read articles on a website called ‘Cult of Mac’, then that makes you a ‘worshipper’, too, right?
A serious question, jOn: why are you so obsessed with Apple? You make the average Apple fanboy look positively ambivalent about the company. You’re obviously deeply insecure about your tech choices; where does that insecurity come from?
Now you’re sounding retarded. Obsessed? Insecure? We are talking about cell phones right?
FYI I have an S7 edge and the iPhone 7, just so you know–I can have whatever I want.
You talk to me about obsessions and insecurities when you stop feeling like it’s your mission in life to defend apple.
Anyway, don’t bother with a response. Enjoy the rest of your day.
I’m happy to bother to reply, jOn, especially when you keep posting nonsense (for example, please link to a single comment I’ve made on this site, or any other, that defends Apple). Regardless, judging by your posting history on this site and several others, you seem really troubled and utterly consumed with your vitriol for Apple. I hope you do decide to get the help you need. Take care and good luck.
Well many courts have ruled that using gun emojis or knives constitutes as death threats… Soooo the PC police would be the courts.
Which court and from what source?
I am getting paid something like six to eight thousand bucks /month for freelance tasks i do at home. For anyone ready to finish simple freelance task for few hours /a day from your house and get valuable income while doing it… Test this work KORTA.NU/NDe
? This is a joke right? Lmao I didn’t know creating fake messages on a phone was all of a sudden credible in court of law. And you were already able to make make conversations long before this app. Hold on. I’m gonna go make a conversation that shows Tim Cook agreed to buy my house for $1,000,000.
Seriously. Are you joking or are you just an idiot? Or just 10 years old?
Fuck off Apple!
Did I just waste 99 cents? I downloaded it and the pranks look as if IM the one texting it. The bubbles are blue instead of White. What’s the deal?
Think about it. What colour do you think the recipients of your messages see their *own* messages as? (Hint: the same colour you see your own messages as.)
But it’s not only that…it comes out on MY side
I’m not sure what you mean by “comes out on MY side”. Could you explain?
Think about it. Which side do you think the recipients see their *own* messages on? Hint: Same side as yours! The right.
Yes, exactly. So what’s the problem?
Maybe you need to send a Phoney sticker to one of your friends and then look at *their* iPhone to understand how this ‘prank’ works. The joke only works at their end, not yours. Trust me, you’ll face-palm when you get it :)
(Also: you do understand that you’re supposed to place these stickers over your friends’ original message bubbles when you send them, right? You don’t just send them as is.)
Congrats. You just pranked yourself.
ok then, can i get a refund?