If your new app's name starts with "Flappy" and ends with "Dragon," "Butterfly," "Bee" or some other flying creature, it probably won't fly. Apple and Google are rejecting Flappy Bird clone apps left and right.
"Flappy" is something of a dirty word over in the Apple App and Google Play stores. Developers who hope to cash in on the Flappy Bird fad are in for a big surprise when they send their new apps to Apple and Google for review. The answer is no, just no. The App and Play stores are already overloaded with Flappy Bird clones and they don't want any more.
Clone apps lead to confusion among users and even trick some into thinking that they have downloaded Flappy Bird when they have in fact downloaded a pale imitation. At least, this is the reasoning Apple and Google give to app developers who try to submit new "flappy" apps.
One such developer, Ken Carpenter from Mind Juice Media says that his app, called "Flappy Dragon," was rejected by both Apple and Google. Apple claimed that the "app name attempts to leverage a popular app," according to Carpenter.
Apple stated that Carpenter's app violated its policy for the following reasons:
"22.2: Apps that contain false, fraudulent or misleading representations will be rejected. 22.2 We found that your app, and/or its metadata, contains content that could be misleading to users, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. We found your app name attempts to leverage a popular app."
Carpenter was quite upset by Apple's refusal to add his app to the App store, arguing that he couldn't possibly be leveraging a popular app, because Flappy Bird no longer exists on the App store. He believes that his use of the word "flappy" is to blame.
Carpenter also sent his app to the Google Play store and was rejected for similar reasons - twice.
"The first time I assumed it was because I included a phrase about 'Flappy Dragon' being the best flapping game to play now that 'Flappy Bird' is dead. My app was originally published with no issue and was online and searchable for a few hours," Carpenter said.
He eventually changed the name to "Derpy Dragon" and finally had success with Google. His app is now available in the Play store.
Meanwhile, Apple stated that it wasn't simply rejecting all apps with the word "Flappy" in the title, but is simply trying to eliminate clone apps that seem to be trying to trick customers into thinking that they are the original Flappy Bird. However, in spite of Apple's claims, it seems that "flappy" is a banned word. Previously published apps like Flappy Bee have changed their names to eliminate the word "flappy" from the title.
