The Windows Phone store has been slowly catching up to competitors with big name apps but if you want to use Snapchat on Microsoft's mobile platform, you are out of luck. Earlier today, Microsoft pulled all of the third-party Snapchat applications, likely at the request of Snapchat.
For Windows Phone users, there is no first-party Snapchat app, so a few developers built third-party applications that used private APIs to build their own applications. The most popular app, 6snap, was pulled earlier today and Windows Phone users (and its developer) are not happy about it.
Of course, it goes without saying that Snapchat has the right to protect its platform and its IP from third-party applications. Because the service is built around disappearing messages and pictures, third-party services can bypass this basic requirement and de-value the brand. There is also the security issue as well, using unofficial third-party applications can expose credentials, scrape content or other unfavorable actions that are outside the control of Snapchat.
It's because of this, Snapchat has likely asked Microsoft to pull all of the applications (Snapchat has not officially said this yet but we suspect that's the reason) from the Windows Phone store. This leaves Windows Phone users without a Snapchat app and makes the Windows Phone platform less attractive.
As you would expect, Windows Phone users are hoping Snapchat will build an official app for this platform but as it stands now, the company is not making public any plans to do so. Why? Well, the reality is that Windows Phone is still quite small and there may not be enough users to justify devoting the resources to build the app for the platform.
If you are a Windows Phone user and want an official app on that platform, it's best to reach out directly to the company because as it stands now, this will be the only way to use the service going forward.
Source: Rudy Huyn
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