Certification requirements for Windows apps

Thank you for your interest in developing Metro style apps for Windows. We're committed to a relationship with you that supports your ambitions and encourages a diverse catalog of high-quality, engaging apps for Windows clients worldwide. We crafted these Beta certification requirements with those goals in mind and they should help you make choices that enhance your app's appeal and help speed its listing in the Windows Store.

The Windows Store offers only fully functional apps to provide clients with the best experience. Anything that might cause our testers to think that your app is not completely finished will cause your app to fail certification.

The APIs for Metro style apps are described in the Metro style apps API reference. Your app must as well not link to, depend on, or if not make use of APIs or Windows OS services outside those described in the Metro style apps API reference.

Identifiable person

Personal information includes all information or data in other words associated with an identifiable person. Examples of personal information include: contacts, photos, phone number, SMS or other text communication, images of the computer's desktop or screen shots, browsing history, and other internet settings.

This includes the presentation of ads and notifications to the customer, which must as well be consistent with the customer's preferences, whether the notifications are provided by the Windows Push Notification Service or any other service. If a customer disables the notification function, either on an app-specific or a system-wide basis, your app must remain functional.

The Windows system includes the computer running Windows, any software running on that computer, and any computers or software communicating with that computer. The app must not include, link to, distribute through the Windows Push Notification Service, or if not provide an entry point for viruses, malware, or any other malicious software, to access the customer's Windows system.

Metered network

When operating over a metered network, your app must offer the customer the option of permitting these transfers without limit or limit audio and video transfers to the following data rates:

Video streams, which include download-only and two-way video-chat, must use an adaptive bit-rate research and limit the transfer rate to no more than 256 Kbps.

When the customer's computer is connected to a metered network, your app must obtain permission from the customer or wait until it has access to an unrestricted network earlier it performs any synchronization, upload, or download that requires a total transfer larger than Windows.Networking.Connectivity.DataPlanStatus.MaxTransferSizeInMegabytes.

When the customer's computer is operating outside of its home network or connected to a metered network during over the data limit, your app must obtain permission from the customer earlier it performs any data transfer in other words larger than 1 megabyte.

If your app uses the Windows Push Notification Service to transmit push notifications, it must do so as described in this requirement.

The Windows Store

a) You may only use WNS for apps distributed through the Windows Store. Notifications provided through WNS are considered app content and are subject to all Windows Store app policies, including the certification requirements.

f) Your app must not use excessive network capacity or WNS bandwidth, or if not unduly burden the Windows system with WNS notifications. For instance, using WNS to stream content or transfer files would violate this requirement.

This section describes types of content that are not permitted in the Metro style apps that are made available in the Windows Store.

Content means the images, sounds, and text contained in the app, as so then as the tiles, notifications, error messages or ads exposed through your app, and anything that's delivered from a server or that the app connects to. Because Windows and the apps in the Windows Store are used around the world, these requirements will be interpreted and applied in the context of regional and cultural norms.

What we use to list your app in the Windows Store

Your app's name is what we use to list your app in the Windows Store. You must give your app a name in other words unique throughout the Windows Store catalog. You can give your app a name in another language; but, additional names must as well be unequalled throughout the Store.

You must assign a Windows Store age rating that most accurately matches your app. The Age rating page contains more detailed descriptions of the content in other words suitable for each Windows Store age rating.

If your app is rated by an optional ratings board in other words identified in Rating boards for Windows apps, you must as well submit that ratings certificate for the app and provide the appropriate content descriptors.

If your app has any existing third-party rating, the Windows Store age rating for the app must be determined from the following table. If your app has rating board ratings that correspond to different Windows Store age ratings, you must assign the Windows Store age rating that corresponds to the older audience.

If your app requires authentication, just as a user or account name and password, you must provide a retrieval mechanism for account information-for instance, through a secondary email account or phone support-and respond to clients within 24 hours.

You must provide a complete description of your app for your clients in each language that you declare in your app's package. The languages that Windows supports are listed in Countries and regions.