Tumblr now offers to display “possibly sensitive content” again in the iOS app after the manufacturer – apparently at Apple’s behest – installed extensive filtering. He has to follow Apple’s App Store rules and its own content guidelines, but wants to give the community more options for customizing the iPhone app, as the provider explained in a statement. Content classified as explicitly erotic should continue to be blocked in the iOS version.
Option only on web – not in iOS app
A new setting makes it possible to show sensitive content that has been hidden since the last Tumblr update in the iPhone app. According to Apple’s specifications, however, this switch must not be accommodated in the iPhone or iOS app itself, so users must call up the settings with the browser on a desktop PC or mobile device. The toggle only affects Tumblr’s iOS app, not the Android app, which will continue to display the content anyway.
Those who choose to disable the filter will be able to search for tags related to sensitive content again and may also receive recommendations for posts with “sensitive or suggestive content”, writes tumblr. Erotic blogs should be visible again and display an overlay, but content marked as explicit remains excluded in the iOS app.
Porn ban after Apple eviction
At the end of December, Tumblr suddenly blocked countless search terms in the iOS app, including terms such as “depression”, “eating disorder”, “sleep disorder”, “sexism” and “racism”. Similar to Discord, Tumblr now uses the external switch, a loophole approved by Apple, to be able to show certain content in the iPhone app again.
Three years ago, Apple threw Tumblr out of the App Store, apparently because of child abuse material. The app was only allowed to return after several weeks. During this period, the service also announced a general ban on pornographic content and is likely to have lost a massive number of users as a result. Tumblr was then sold in 2019 and has since belonged to the WordPress provider Automattic.
(lbe)
