Katie Marsal
Update: Apple has now removed the explicit tag from the developer Web site. An Apple representative reportedly told one developer that the company is considering an option in the future, but "it's not going to happen anytime soon."
A developer revealed to Cult of Mac that the new category is available for selection on the iTunesConnect Web site. However, applications with the "explicit" distinction have not yet appeared in the App Store.
The change could signal that Apple is preparing to launch an adults-only section of the App Store that would segregate potentially offensive content from the remainder of applications.
The move follows Apple's removal of more than 5,000 applications the company said were "overtly sexual." The change in policy came after the company received numerous complaints from users who were concerned children would be able to access inappropriate content from the App Store on their iPhone or iPod touch. Whether those applications removed in the last week would be allowed in to the App Store under the new "explicit" category is unknown.
Apple is also preparing to launch its iPad device, a new form factor the company will pitch as a multimedia accessory that can serve as an e-reader of novels and textbooks. The new hardware will also have access to the App Store and its library of more than 140,000 applications. Its potential adoption in the education market could have played a part in Apple's decision to remove sexual content.
Though Apple purged a number of applications (including some mistakenly), other adult oriented content remained on the App Store, including applications from Playboy and
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75 Comments
Well, that was quick. I'm glad that Apple listens (sometimes ).
Bring back the apps, fully flesh out the Parental Controls, then we can put this behind us and move on
Let's hope that someone who sells swimwear via an App representing their business doesn't get labeled as explicit because someone is modeling a bikini.
Well, that was quick. I'm glad that Apple listens (sometimes ).
Bring back the apps, fully flesh out the Parental Controls, then we can put this behind us and move on
Exactly.
Guess everyone that was 'explaining' to us that Apple doesn't want to be associated with adult themed apps were sort of grasping at straws.
Now if they will just create a political speech category, and stop rejecting apps as "politically charged", all will be well. The sooner they get off these slippery slopes the better.
Well, that was quick. I'm glad that Apple listens (sometimes ).
Bring back the apps, fully flesh out the Parental Controls, then we can put this behind us and move on
I think you are assuming a lot here. I don't see this necessarily as evidence of them "listening."
For starters, none of the apps that were banned could by any stretch of the imagination be referred to as "explicit" in the sense that this word is usually reserved for the extreme end of the scale in terms of adult entertainment. The apps that were banned were from the opposite end of that scale. The apps that were banned had no nudity for instance. Many had no content that you couldn't see in any fashion magazine any day of the week. Some were tamer than a Disney movie.
Those apps were most likely banned just because some executive at Apple "didn't like them" and didn't care about fairness or making any kind of sense with the admission policy. This is a bad thing that they did and putting in an explicit category (if they are in fact doing that), doesn't change that fact.
I can't see them adding a simple app that shows swimsuit pictures into an "explicit" category. That's just laughable.