All third party Snapchat apps, including 6snap, have been taken off the Windows Phone store

Last month, reports circulated about security concerns over Snapchat, or, more specifically, third-party apps that served as alternatives to the native Snapchat app.

Snapchat had limits to what it was able to do apparently. In lieu of going after the third-party developers directly, the service went after its own users, providing warnings when the social messenger detected use of a non-native app.

The warning is followed up with a notice that user accounts will be locked if they do not stop using third-party apps. At issue is the fact that Snapchat does not have any official APIs for developers to use, hence the aforementioned security issues.

The problem is worse for users of Windows Phone is that there is no native Snapchat app available. Rudy Huyn, developer behind 6snap, the popular third party Snapchat app for that platform, sought to get an exemption from the crackdown.

The effort appears to be in vain however, as not only 6snap, but all third-party Snapchat apps have been removed from the Windows Phone store. It also appears that Snapchat has also carried out its intentions to lock user accounts associated with third-party app use.

One of Snapchat’s cornerstone features is the removal of messages and media in the app, pictures disappear automatically, as do chats. They are not stored for any appreciable length of time on Snapchat’s servers. Third-party applications using their own solutions to access the service in the wake of no APIs, create a problem out of Snapchat’s control.

There is no official word on Snapchat’s blog, but we can only surmise that it asked Microsoft to remove all the apps from the Windows Phone store. In the absence of a native app to take the other apps’ places, Snapchat users on Windows Phone are up the creek without a paddle.

source: Windows Central