Apple Denies Approval for Bit Torrent app due to Piracy Concerns

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

It looks like Apple has a very strict anti-piracy view in its App Store approval process. uMonitor, a iPhone app to remotely control uTorrent on the desktop just got rejected by Apple. Apple states:

“this category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights. We have chosen to not publish this type of application to the App Store.”

Apple has denied another bit torrent app before. Drivetrain, another bit torrent tool, was also rejected back in May for anti-piracy reasons. It is interesting to note that these apps do not actually download anything. It just makes it easier to access the bit torrent client that is doing the downloading somewhere else. An app that enables remote control of the desktop computer can also accomplish remote controlling of bit torrent clients. So it appears that Apple is drawing a line here. In their view, general remote control of desktop computers is OK, but an app that dedicates itself to remote control of a bit torrent client is piracy related.

Apple’s stubburn stance against uMonitor means we may never see an app that ties itself to Bit Torrent in the App Store, as Apple has viewed Bit Torrent simply as a piracy tool. But that doesn’t prevent App Store’s evil sibling, Cydia, to enable uMonitor downloads for jailbroken iPhones. uMonitor’s denial just gave one more reason for iPhone users to jailbreak their iPhones.