iPhone
Apple bans sexual content iPhone apps from the App Store
By Jim DalrympleFebruary 19, 2010, 6:53 am PT
It appears that Apple is in the process of making some major changes to its App Store policies, regarding sexual content.
In a letter send to the developer of Wobble iBoobs says he received an email from Apple on Thursday indicating his app has been removed from the App Store. Apple indicated that the policy change came after complaints from customers, according to TechCrunch.
The letter from Apple reads:
The App Store continues to evolve, and as such, we are constantly refining our guidelines. Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution. However, we have recently received numerous complaints from our customers about this type of content, and have changed our guidelines appropriately.
We have decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store, which includes your application.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If you believe you can make the necessary changes so that Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored) complies with our recent changes, we encourage you to do so and resubmit for review.
Sincerely,
iPhone App Review
The purging of sexual content isn’t limited to Wobble iBoobs. Other apps have been removed from the App Store, as well.
The developer of said Wobble iBoobs was downloaded almost 1 million times since its release.
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4 comments so far
4 Responses to “Apple bans sexual content iPhone apps from the App Store”
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Apple bans sexual content iPhone apps from the App Store
By Jim DalrympleFebruary 19, 2010, 6:53 am PT
It appears that Apple is in the process of making some major changes to its App Store policies, regarding sexual content.
In a letter send to the developer of Wobble iBoobs says he received an email from Apple on Thursday indicating his app has been removed from the App Store. Apple indicated that the policy change came after complaints from customers, according to TechCrunch.
The letter from Apple reads:
The App Store continues to evolve, and as such, we are constantly refining our guidelines. Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution. However, we have recently received numerous complaints from our customers about this type of content, and have changed our guidelines appropriately.
We have decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store, which includes your application.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If you believe you can make the necessary changes so that Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored) complies with our recent changes, we encourage you to do so and resubmit for review.
Sincerely,
iPhone App Review
The purging of sexual content isn’t limited to Wobble iBoobs. Other apps have been removed from the App Store, as well.
The developer of said Wobble iBoobs was downloaded almost 1 million times since its release.
Please take a minute to Tweet, Like, or Share this post with your friends.
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⋅ Post a comment
Discussion 4 comments so far
4 Responses to “Apple bans sexual content iPhone apps from the App Store”
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Apple's policies have been pretty clear this class of app isn't allowed right from the beginning. The difference is that they're finally enforcing it.
Personally, I don't especially care if these apps go away forever. But if they stay, I want is to be able to hide them without hiding apps like Tweetie who's worse crime is showing the internet.
The folks at Apple may live in a sex free world but that's not good enough for me. I can make my own choices about what software I buy just like what websites I visit or magazines I read. Frankly it's none of Apple's business. Unfortunately most people won't see this as blatant app-burning but that is exactly what this is. I don't live my life in some sort of children's theme park. If they are going to be the only legit public portal then they should be prepared to offer a more balanced approach.
don't worry Jack you can still go to Safari and hit all the image sites you want. and i'm sure all those sexy apps will go into the jailbreaking world for ya
there's probably more to this story anyway. how many of those 4000-5000 apps had proper ratings on them, how many were updated to work with 3.0. how many more were like the 500 that were just the same app with a different dozen photos for your $2.99.
Some folks won't like it but Apple has all the same rights as any other store. So just like the local Borders can choose not to carry Hustler or Asian Babes, the App Store can choose not to carry porn or anything else
Now that I've been thinking about this for a few days, I'm willing to bet they'll reappear as part of an OPT IN at some point. But I'd be surprised if it's a big priority for Apple, despite the money being left on the table.