Tumblr users who like to view adult content on the platform will have to avoid the iOS app, because the company says it’s hiding “sensitive content” so as not to offend Apple’s sensibilities.
“To remain available within Apple’s App Store,” Tumblr says, “we are having to extend the definition of what sensitive content is as well as the way you access it in order to comply with their guidelines.” It also links to the App Store guidelines available on Apple’s developer site.
The company says it will show the above overlay on blogs that have “been flagged as explicit” and when “viewing search or tag results for certain words or phrases.” Users will have to guess at what’s being filtered out, though, because Tumblr won’t disclose that information “at this time.”
It probably won’t be too hard to guess what’s being filtered, but the new definition of “sensitive content” extends further than some might expect. Tumblr says that users “may also notice” that:
- Images received via direct messaging from blogs you don’t follow cannot be viewed in the app.
- Likes and reblogs from explicit flagged blogs are hidden from the notes.
- Images from reblogs shown in posts’ notes are blurred unless you follow the Tumblr that added the image.
- Your dashboard (the “Following” tab and the “Stuff for you” tab), search results, and tag results no longer show content that contains certain words or phrases.
- Certain words and phrases have been removed from the typeahead feature in search (sometimes referred to as search suggestions).
- We’ve excluded blogs that may contain or create sensitive content from search and tag results.
These changes went live with the release of Tumblr version 22.5.1 to the App Store. The company says that it won’t show this overlay to users of its Android app or mobile website; it’s merely expanding its restrictions on sensitive content to comply with Apple’s policies.
“While we don’t have an exact timeline for how long these changes will be in effect,” Tumblr says, “we are working on additional features that will allow for a less restricted iOS app experience.” The company plans to share details as they become available via its Changes blog.
