Microsoft has revised its policies for the Microsoft Store. The new policies, which went into effect earlier this week, aim to ban bad actors from charging money for repackaged open source software, ensure accuracy of product metadata and more.
Install Microsoft Store apps WITHOUT the Microsoft Store
The main highlight of version 7.16 of the Microsoft Store policies is the update that cracks down on unofficial developers who repackage free and open source software and put a price tag on it.
"In cases where you determine the price of your product or in-app purchase, any pricing, including sales or discounts, of your digital products or services must not attempt to take advantage of open source or other software that is otherwise publicly available for free, nor be priced irrationally high relative to the features and functionality your product provides,” the updated policy states.
A classic example of this phenomenon is below, where someone has listed the popular photo editing software Gimp with the name Gimp Easy for $9.99. As irony would have it, another unofficial list of Gimp has more ratings and reviews than the official Microsoft Store list.
