Some titles disappear, others remain

A major policy change may be taking hold at the App Store, a report implies. Jon Atherton, the developer of a title called Wobble iBoobs, says he recently received a letter from Apple informing him that his app was being pulled because the company has decided to clamp down on "overtly sexual content" of any sort. "The App Store continues to evolve," the letter begins, "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."

Atherton's experience may be just one example, as some similarly-themed apps like Exotic Positions and Sexy Women have disappeared from the App Store, leaving either a broken link or no trace at all. Other "adult" titles remain, though Apple may simply have more work to do before it can censor every potentially objectionable app. Such restrictions could harm developers who have become dependent on the apps for income, though such a strategy has always been risky given the flexibility of Apple's rules.

by MacNN Staff