“Apple removed several Wi-Fi apps commonly referred to as stumblers, or apps that seek out available Wi-Fi networks near your location,” Dalrymple reports. “According to a story on Cult of Mac, apps removed by Apple include WiFi-Where, WiFiFoFum, and yFy Network Finder. ‘We received a very unfortunate e-mail today from Apple stating that WiFi-Where has been removed from sale on the App Store for using private frameworks to access wireless information,’ WiFi Where-maker Three Jacks Software, wrote on its Web site.”
Dalrymple reports, “There was no explanation as to what Apple meant by ‘private frameworks.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Private frameworks mean that they’re not to be used by third-party developers and Apple can (and likely will) change them at will (thereby likely breaking apps that aren’t supposed to be using those frameworks). In many cases, security is the issue. Any developer who decides to use Apple’s private frameworks should be aware that they risk App Store rejection or removal of their apps without notice and should not be surprised if and when either event happens.
MacDailyNews Note: We just tapped our eWiFi app on our iPhones and it still works, but it’s no longer available in the App Store. A note on the eWiFi website confirms that it’s been pulled, too. Developer eFUSION writes, “Hope Apple will include WiFi framework in their future SDK.”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Davidlow” for the heads up.]