Some unfortunate news has come for the BlackBerry 10 community today – after a takedown request from Snapchat, BlackBerry has been forced to remove the third-party client Snap2Chat from the BlackBerry World storefront.
Snap2Chat has so far been the only full-featured Snapchat client to be available to BlackBerry users, though it had issues getting approved by BlackBerry at first. Nonetheless, after some back and forth with Snapchat and the developer, BlackBerry was happy to approve the app. Snapchat never gave the official green light however, and it looks like they’ve decided to finally pursue the app as a result.
In the official takedown notice, kindly provided to BlackBerry Empire by the developer, Snapchat’s counsel begins by citing concerns around trademark. Specifically, they believe that the app “improperly uses Snapchat’s trademark in its app title and includes the unauthorized use of the Snapchat ghost logo.” Unfortunately, however, a simple name and logo change won’t cut it this time around – the second part of the letter specifically mentions that Snapchat’s terms of use have been violated “by bypassing Snapchat’s protective measures and accessing its servers and content without permission.” As such, the counsel believes that not only is Snap2Chat violating the terms of use, but “other federal and state laws”, prompting them to request a takedown. With a harsh takedown letter like that, it’s unlikely that Snap2Chat will ever return to BlackBerry World.
The app can still be sideloaded by downloading the .BAR file here, and oddly enough the Lite version is still available as of writing, but it is a rather unfortunate loss for BlackBerry World. It also begs the question – why? Similar apps have happily existed on other platforms for ages, though perhaps with a little more regard for trademark. So why pursue this particular one? It’s unlikely that BlackBerry 10’s small userbase is putting a significant amount of stress on their servers. And although the concern around trademark is understandable, they made sure to mention the violation of the terms of use as well – potentially ensuring the app can never be published again. Are they preparing to come to the platform in an official capacity, or does a similar fate await third-party apps on other platforms as well? Let us know what you think is going on in the comments.