Microsoft adds 'kill switch' to Windows Phone 7

Microsoft has joined the ranks of Apple and Google in placing a potentially controversial security measure into its mobile-application platform.

The company has built a layer of security into Windows Phone 7 and the apps available through the included marketplace program that enables it to disable an application or remove it entirely from a user's device. It transpires this safety feature was also included in Windows Mobile 6.5 through the Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

According to an interview with Todd Biggs, Microsoft's director of product management for the Windows Phone Marketplace, in PC Pro, this is a worst-case scenario security measure, and something that is unlikely to be a common occurrence given the company's testing process prior to an app being made available.

For more on this story, read Windows Phone 7 has an app kill switch, too on CNET News.