As the Windows Phone app selection began to see rapid growth, it also became a ripe new market for spammers to exploit. It happens in every app store but recently we've seen more apps commit plagiarism, fraud, and just plain trolling — see the go-to example app above, Spam, which has remained published in the Store for more than a year, despite having no functionality at all.
What happens if you run across one of these apps? Or worse, what happens when you buy an app that was supposed to be one thing but instead duped you? Thankfully with the new Windows Phone Store website, there is a way to report developers who are violating policies.
Here's how you can report an app:
- Go to the Windows Phone Store website: www.windowsphone.com/store.
- Login with your Microsoft account (Required!).
- Go to the app you want to report
- Click the "Report Concern to Microsoft" link below the Download Size/Content Rating category.
- You will be given a list of options to choose from as the basis of your report:
- Offensive Content, Child Exploitation, Malware or Virus, Privacy Concerns, Misleading App, or Poor Performance.
- Click 'Submit' and then you're done!
We have to admit, we didn't think it would be such a streamlined process when the feature was first announced with the site's new design. Fortunately, it looks like Microsoft will be policing the Store a little bit better with your help to avoid malicious or scammy apps from ripping people off.
Another Quick Tip: Easily reinstall apps from the new Windows Phone website
