New iCloud Feature Gives Banned Apps their Second Wind

It appears that the App Store iOS application has received a nice little update. Users are now allowed to re-download previously purchased applications via iCloud, even ones that have been banned by Apple.

These are titles that were accepted into the App Store at one point, but have since been removed due to violation of App Store Guidelines, or simply because Apple said so. But folks longing to play banished apps like iTris again just might be in luck …

In addition to the Automatic Download feature we debuted yesterday, iCloud also allows you to download previously purchased apps. While you’ve been able to re-download purchased items in iTunes for a while, now you can do it right from your iDevice.

Just open the App Store up and navigate to the Updates pane. Then, tap on the tab that says Purchased.

Here you’ll find a list of all of your App Store purchases at your disposal. I tested it out by redownloading Apple’s Case Program application, an app that was pulled from the App Store last October.

However, it doesn’t seem to work with all software. TUAW commented that they tried to redownload a tethering application and couldn’t get it to work. You must also be running at least iOS 4.3.3 (Let us know if you are on a lower firmware and it works).

It’s hard to tell whether this is a byproduct of the new iCloud service, or if it’s just a glitch that’ll get patched before the final builds of iCloud and iOS 5 get released. But if you’ve been missing a banned app that you accidentally deleted, it won’t hurt to check and see if it’s available.

Have you tried this yet? Did you reunite with any old favorites?