LONDON — Apple has begrudgingly approved the first porn app for use on iPhones, which is now available in Europe.
The app, Hot Tub, is available via AltStore PAL's alternative iOS app marketplace.
Apple's own App Store has long banned "overtly sexual or pornographic material," as company co-founder Steve Jobs believed Apple had a "moral responsibility" to keep porn off the iPhone. However, the EU's Digital Markets Act gives iPhone users the option of browsing alternative app stores. Apple therefore had no choice but to review the Hot Tub app for fraud, functionality, and security threats — a review it passed with flying colors.
Hot Tub bills itself as a free "adult content browser" for EU users and streams content from sites like Pornhub and XHamster. In a social media post this week, AltStore PAL called it "the world’s 1st Apple-approved porn app."
Apple quickly took exception to that description, as the company is clearly irked about being required to allow Hot Tub to be used on iPhones — especially since the app has a "Teen" channel featuring adult content.
"We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids," Apple spokesperson Peter Ajemian said in a statement shared with The Verge.
"This app and others like it will undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem that we have worked for more than a decade to make the best in the world," the statement reads. "Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would never offer it in our App Store. The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic who may not share our concerns for user safety."
It seems likely that more iPhone-compatible porn apps will follow.
In the meantime, perhaps anticipating some heat, AltStore developer Riley Testut announced that the marketplace platform will donate all of its Patreon earnings this month to "causes supporting sex workers and those in the LGBTQ+ community."
Testut touted Hot Tub as an elegant, native porn app that is "thoughtfully designed, ethically made, and free to use," while Vice called it "easily navigable" and said it offers "a streamlined browsing experience with no ads or pop-ups."
AltStore PAL launched in Europe in April 2024 — three months after the Digital Markets Act took effect — as one of the first alternative iOS app marketplaces. It is funded by a "MegaGrant" from Epic Games, which has its own app storefront that doesn't feature any porn apps.
AltStore PAL told Tech Crunch that it did not encounter any issues getting the Hot Tub app approved for distribution on the iPhone.