Tumblr Forced To Censor Content To Remain On The App Store

Tumblr has blocked hundreds of words and phrases from its iOS app to ensure that it doesn’t get kicked out of Apple’s App Store yet again. Tumblr was originally booted off the App Store in November 2018 over child pornography allegations before being reinstated the following month after the website claimed to have cleaned up its act. The company has since been more aggressive with its content moderation, even banning adult content on iOS, although the policies do not affect people using the Tumblr website or the Android app.

Apple has often faced the wrath of developers for its App Store policies, although most of it has to do with the company’s stringent app review guidelines. Restrictions on third-party payment options for app purchases have also been a particularly sore point for many developers, with Epic Games even going to court over the issue in a case that has received an incredible amount of publicity in the mainstream media over the past year. However, given how important the App Store ecosystem is, most developers have to ultimately accept Apple’s policies, as Tumblr is finding out to its detriment.

In a blog post this week, Tumblr announced that it is restricting a number of search terms on its iOS app to comply with Apple’s App Store guidelines. While the company is limiting the search results for certain tags and phrases, others are being blocked entirely. According to the company, the terms and phrases that are now off-limits on its iOS app “may fall under the expanded definition of sensitive content” as per Apple’s App Store policies.

Blocked Terms Reportedly Include ‘Racism’ And ‘Addiction’

TechCrunch posted a crowdsourced list of banned and limited search terms on Tumblr’s iOS app, and it has all the usual suspects you’d expect in a crackdown on adult content. However, some of the blocked or restricted search terms also surprisingly include addiction, anorexia, bipolar, antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, suicide prevention, etc. Overall, the list includes dozens more terms and phrases that are also related to self-help and mental health, with no explanation on why they’re being blocked in the first place. While Tumblr has confirmed the move to block select tags and search terms, it is yet to verify the crowdsourced list.

As explained by Tumblr, people searching for a blocked term or a blog with adult content will see a page that says “This content has been hidden.” Users may also see fewer suggestions under the “Stuff for You” and “Following” sections due to the new policies. The company acknowledged that implementing different policies for different platforms is not the ideal solution, and apologized for the “disruption” caused by these new policies. It also promised “meaningful developments” that will change the way users access sensitive content on the web and on mobile devices going forward.

Source: Tumblr, TechCrunch, Google Docs