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Apple issues official warning as first porn app is launched on iPhones
Allegedly, Apple is strongly against porn being available on its devices
How an antitrust law created the first porn app for iPhones
For whatās probably the first time in history, a pornography app is available to download directly to iPhones.
You can thank, or blame, bureaucrats in Brussels for this milestone.
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For years, Appleās voluminousĀ rulesĀ about which apps are and arenāt allowed have been clear: Apps featuring āovertly sexual or pornographic materialā are banned from Appleās App Store.
But starting this week, an iPhone porn app called Hot Tub is available ā only in the European Union ā from one of the non-Apple mini app stores created under aĀ landmark E.U. lawĀ to jump-start more technology competition.
The companyĀ knewĀ iPhone pornography apps were likely to spring up as a result of the 2024 E.U. regulation, and Apple is not happy. āThis app and others like it will undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem,ā Apple said.
The arrival of a porn app is fresh evidence that anti-monopoly laws and lawsuits against Apple and other technology giants are starting to change the technology we use ā in ways we might love or loathe.
Also because of new laws or government pressure, Apple recently made its iPhone chat appĀ work more seamlessly with Android phonesĀ worldwide, the popular Fortnite gamesĀ returned to iPhones in the E.U. and Netflix for the first time in years is offering a way to buy a subscription from its iPhone app.
Iāll explain Appleās history of simultaneously prohibiting and enabling online porn, and how Hot Tub is emblematic of the messy but potentially exciting challenges to Appleās and Googleās nearly 20 years of control over the app economy
Appleās ban on porn
When Apple first formalized rules for its App Store in 2010, the company said porn and sexual material were no-nos. Apple alone decided what crossed the line.
In reality, pornography has flourished on iPhones with or without Appleās explicit permission.
Apple still allows porn in apps like Reddit and X, as long as there are settings to hide it, and people have found evenĀ illegal sexualized materialĀ in iPhone apps despite Appleās rules. Anyone can use the iPhoneās Safari browser to access the internetās full variety, including pornography.
To some people, Appleās prohibitions still went too far. Lawrence Walters, a First Amendment attorney who represents adult entertainment companies and performers, said Apple has hurt people and businesses involved in adult content by closing off iPhone apps as a way to reach their audience.
The complicated combination of banned but widespread adult content got even murkier starting last year in the E.U.
The regionās sweeping Big Tech law required Apple to give iPhone users a choice of downloading apps from alternative app stores that could set their own rules and terms for developers. One of those alternative app stores,Ā AltStore PAL, heard about Hot Tub and invited it to come aboard.
People have previously gotten around Appleās bans on some app categories by breaking iPhone software locks to download apps that the company doesnāt permit. Hot Tub has previously been available for iPhone users that have done this uncommon step, called ājailbreaking.ā
People knowledgeable about Appleās history say that Hot Tub is probably the first porn app that people can download to iPhones directly, without jailbreaking.
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Why this matters to you
I hear from readers who overwhelmingly like Appleās App Store as a safe space mostly free from porn, scams and other material they donāt want.
Critics of Appleās control and bans on apps generally say they want to add choices ā not take away what you might like.
Will Smillie, the 27-year-old software developer who created Hot Tub, said Apple is right to ban porn apps in its App Store. He also wants people to have options of apps that donāt conform to what Apple decides its users should have.
āItās great there are more options coming online for people who want to explore what else they can do with their device,ā he said.
Shane Gill and Riley Testut, who created the AltStore PAL storefront, said as a child-safety measure their app store can be automatically blocked on iPhones that use Appleās parental controls. People also canāt find Hot Tub and most other apps on AltStore PAL unless you know where to look.
While Hot Tub is the first porn app on AltStore PAL, Gill and Testut said their app storefront has been a haven for other apps that didnāt have a place in the mass market App Store, including simple video games that Apple rejected and apps businesses created for their employees that didnāt need to be in the App Store.
The rise of alternative stores shows that governments and courts around the world are challenging the tens of billions of dollars Apple and Google make each year as the hubs for app downloads and digital app purchases.
A judge last fall also ordered aĀ dramatic change to Googleās app storeĀ for Android devices that would be far more radical than what the E.U. did. (Those changes are on hold while Google appeals.)
You might be fine with the app status quo. The point of the antitrust crackdowns, Gill said, is to give you an opportunity to find out what an alternative app reality could be.
āItās the freedom to try,ā he said.