It was a short-lived craze most people were alerted to last week when #StolenCode started trending worldwide. An invitation-only app for trading and selling Twitter accounts, Stolen became the most wanted app on iOS.
The app worked by creating something reminiscent of a trading card from the information in Twitter profiles, along with an in-game value. When someone opted to “buy” you in the game, they didn’t literally own you or your Twitter account, of course, but by trading and selling they would drive up the value of your profile.
Today Stolen announced it would be removing itself from the app store.
We’ve decided to shut down the Stolen! app and service until further notice. Thank you for everyone’s support.
— Stolen! (@getstolen) January 14, 2016
If you have done IAPs, refunds are available through iTunes. We appreciate all the support but shutting down the right thing to do right now
— Stolen! (@getstolen) January 14, 2016
The app is no longer available in the App Store. We’ve heard everyone’s concerns and have decided the best thing to do is to shut down.
— Stolen! (@getstolen) January 14, 2016
So what was the problem?
You didn’t have to sign up to Stolen for your account to be available for sale. Without you having any idea, people could buy and sell and trade your account. There was no way to opt out of your profile being used in the game, and you couldn’t opt out of your profile being used.
When someone owned your account, they could give your profile a publicly viewable nickname. This is where it gets a little icky, with the very real potential for harassment — and let’s face it, the Twitter community doesn’t exactly have the best track record for being a harassment-free platform.
With the quick decision to shut down, these concerns have clearly been taken on board by the developers. The creators of Stolen have been reached out to for comment.