There are a lot of things I like about Windows 8. I’ve written at length about the OS and various Windows 8 and Windows RT devices, and my experience has largely been quite positive. But there’s one little issue that drives me crazy: You can’t delete apps from your Windows Store account. Sure, you can remove an app from your device, but it’ll always be attached to your account and visible in the “your apps” section of the Windows Store.
If this were the extent of the problem, it wouldn’t be too frustrating. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I recently started using an Acer Iconia W510 tablet (check out my first impressions here), which came preinstalled with a number of apps. And guess what. While I never actually downloaded any of the apps that came on the device, each and every one was automatically registered to my account. So now, the “your apps” section of the Windows Store is filled with apps I never downloaded and have no interest in.
Thankfully, fixing this issue shouldn’t be too hard. All Microsoft needs to do is add a way to permanently delete an app from your account. If that results in the loss of the app’s license and requires you to purchase premium apps if you ever want them again, then so be it. At least that way, I’ll be able to clean up my account.
Amen!
This reminds me of when I bought the first-gen Zune and there were a lot of issues that weren’t deal breakers, but still annoying compared to iTunes. It’s still a fairly new ecosystem, lets hope Microsoft doesn’t make the same mistakes again.
Yeah, I’m sure the changes will come in time. Hopefully as soon as the oft-rumored “Windows Blue” update due sometime this year.
Well, removing them and then needing to purchase again doesn’t sound like a good solution. If the do go to any length to fix this a more appropriate (and probably as easy if not easier) fix would be to let you “archive” apps so they won’t appear in your apps (but give you an option to view archived or ALL apps too), and they won’t seek for updates and stuff.
And while at it, I would love if they wouldn’t break any apps that for one reason or another changed pricing policy or listing. I have been given a few as a gift when I bought my new Samsung laptop, and some of them doesn’t work anymore, just because the developer changed the price. Why do I have to re-buy them? Does it sound logical (if we move this out of the IT domain) that your CDs won’t play music anymore just because the publisher decided they were too cheap when you bought them?
While I wouldn’t mind deleting apps I’ll never want again from my account (and knowing that I’d have to re-purchase them if I ever want them in the future), your archive idea might be a better solution.
As for the “breaking apps,” I’m not sure why that’s occurring. Price changes shouldn’t affect apps you’ve already purchased, although if a developer re-lists the app under a different name, it’s technically considered a different app and you’d have to purchase it again. Are you switching between operating systems (e.g. Windows 8 to Windows RT)?
With the added advantage that the “Archived” or “Unwanted” apps will show up in the developer’s statistic report to tell them how much percentage of the users think their product doesn’t make the cut.