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Microsoft has given the royal boot to Snapchat alternatives on Windows Phone in an effort to tighten security on the platform.
The third-party clone apps were culled over the weekend, leaving the Windows Phone store entirely Snapchat-less.
6snap was one of the most popular Snapchat alternatives for Windows Phone, and was amongst the apps removed by Microsoft.
Its developer, Rudy Huyn, outed the culling on Twitter, as reported by WindowsCentral, writing: “6snap has disappeared as well as all Snapchat apps on store.”
He continued: “I will work closely with Microsoft now to convince Snapchat to change its mind.”
Last month, Snapchat made a blog post detailing how it would it discourage the use of third-party apps.
Related: Snapchat CEO 'angry' and 'devastated' at Sony hack e-mail leaks
It would be very interesting if it turned out that Snapchat got in touch with Microsoft and requested the Snap-clone rapture, because the firm doesn’t currently offer its own official version of the app for Windows Phone.
Snapchat has previously threatened to lock the accounts of users who had been found to be using third-party apps, so it wouldn’t be farfetched to assume the company would be continuing its aggressive clamp down via Microsoft.
It’s not clear whether Microsoft will be re-adding apps in the future. It could be the case that it has removed apps en masse in order to reinstate a choice few as part of an approval process.
It's all in response to this year's Snapchat hack that saw upwards of 200,000 explicit personal images acquired through exploited third-party apps.