Apple Confirms: No Porn on iPhone

CUPERTINO, Calif. — On the heels of rejecting a nudity-filled app from its App Store, Apple has confirmed that it won’t allow porn on the iPhone, much to the confusion of everyone.

Yesterday, Apple approved an app called Hottest Girls, which delivers about 2,200 images of attractive women, including many topless shots, a first for the App Store.

Hours later, Apple removed the app from the American version of the App Store. The app is reportedly still available in Europe. The app's developer, known as Allen The Geek, said that Apple hadn’t banned the app, claiming that he simply removed the app because all the downloads kept crashing his servers.

But Apple soon released a statement to CNN that simultaneously blamed the developer for dishonestly submitting an adult app and confirmed the company’s policy against accepting porn.

The statement reads, “Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography. The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.”

Apple’s reversal is drawing criticism from online pundits, including analyst MG Siegler of leading tech blog TechCrunch.com. Siegler wondered if anyone was "actually in charge" of setting standards for adult content over at Apple.

"I’m starting to think this whole system is run by a group of people, all with different thoughts on the approach Apple should take with apps," Siegler said. "And none of whom seem to communicate with each other very well."

Apple's rejection of the app would also seem to contradict its own policy. The company recently released the newest version of the iPhone operating system, which includes parental controls. The App Store reflects those new features with onscreen warnings about adult apps.

The Hottest Girls app itself included such language, including an onscreen prompt that appeared immediately before download and asked the user for confirmation of age.

"The App Store approval process has basically been a joke for much of the past year," Siegler said. "I was hopeful it would get better now that parental controls are a part of the iPhone 3.0 software. Apparently, I was wrong. It looks like it’s getting worse."

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More