Apple rejects game app measuring the height of phone tosses

Apple has rejected a game app that scores players on how high they can toss their smartphone in the air.

The game, “Send Me To Heaven,” launched this week and is available free for Android smartphones. IPhone users, however, will not be able to download the app.

“Apple thought it was violating one of the rules for submission as it was encouraging behavior which could lead to a damage of iOS device,” Petr Svarovsky, the game’s developer, said in an email to The Times.

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“Send Me To Heaven,” which Apple said was rejected for violating one of its App Store guidelines, describes itself as a “sports game” since it takes skill to throw and catch the device without breaking it. The app calculates how high you throw it using the device’s accelerometer.

If you try to cheat and throw your phone off of a tall building, the app will know and show you an error message.

“Using a parachute or a rocket will not bring desired result either,” Svarovsky said.

Svarovsky said it’s important users throw their devices in a way that doesn’t cause them to rotate in the air or else they might get a score of zero.

But before users can start throwing their phones, the app warns them to “be careful not to injure yourself or others.”

“Be always aware that there is enough space above you and around you,” the app says on Google Play. “Do some training to learn right skills to get best results.”

The game also requires that users agree to a disclaimer before they start playing. The disclaimer says that the user agrees the game developer is not liable for any damages or injuries caused by playing the game.

Though the game is obviously risky -- and some would say foolish -- to play, what with most smartphones costing several hundred dollars, “Send Me To Heaven” has received many positive user ratings. Out of 101 ratings, it has 76 five-star ratings, the highest score users can give an app on Google Play.

“Almost broke mine playing, but it’s fun to pass the time with,” said one user who gave the app a five-star rating. “Not even trying for the high score anymore, it is straight up phone-suicide.”

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