Last August, Microsoft announced efforts to remove misleading and deceptive applications from the Windows Store. Apps needed to have clear names and proper categorization, plus they couldn't use misleading icons.

Less than a year later, Microsoft has announced a new effort to remove misleading and deceptive applications from the Windows Store. While this new decrapification process isn't identical to the old one, it nonetheless feels very similar.

Much of the focus concerns icons. App icons should reflect what the app does, and they should be differentiated from other app icons. Mass-produced copy/paste style apps where a developer can create dozens of minute variations on the same base app are still allowed, but at least a little more effort will be required.

The Windows Store is chock full of "reference" applications; apps that superficially look like a major game or high profile app, but which are merely "guides" to those games. Again, those are still permitted, but their icons must now clearly disclose that they're tutorials or guides, limiting their ability to deceive buyers into thinking that they're buying the game itself.

Similarly, app titles, keywords, and descriptions must be accurate and relevant.

Microsoft also has some more subjective rules. The company says that apps that don't appear to offer any differentiated, unique value may be removed. Microsoft gives the example of flashlight apps; if your flashlight app does nothing to distinguish it from any other flashlight app, it may be removed.

Redmond is also using pricing as a signal. An app that appears to be substantially more expensive than its peers without offering functionality commensurate with that price may be removed from the store. This sounds like the kind of control that Microsoft will have to use judiciously; while there are certainly apps that are overpriced, it seems difficult to distinguish between those that are doing so to mislead, and those that are just... overpriced.

But whatever Microsoft says, we've heard much of this before. Rules on having differentiated icons, accurate descriptions, and clear naming aren't new. Microsoft was talking about them last year, though they weren't really new then either. While it would be nice to believe the Store really will be cleaned up and transformed into a trustworthy source of quality applications this time, we're not going to hold our collective breath.