Tumblr's iOS app is blocking more than 400 search terms to reduce the risk of Apple banning it from the App Store. Here's a former Tumblr developer expressing frustration with the app's review process.
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Some of the terms are clearly designed to block access to porn – like those for sexual body parts – but others seem odd…
Tumblr explained the changes in a post.
For those of you who access Tumblr through our iOS app, we wanted to let you know that starting today you may see some differences in search terms and suggested content that may contain certain types of sensitive content. In order to comply with Apple's App Store Guidelines, we need to adjust what you can access as it relates to potentially sensitive content when using the iOS app.
To remain available on Apple's App Store, we need to expand the definition of sensitive content as well as how to access it, in order to comply with their guidelines […]
When searching for certain terms or phrases that may fall under the expanded definition of sensitive content, you may see fewer results for that query than you did in the past. In some cases, a search may not return any results at all, and you will see a message like the following:
“This content has been hidden. This content has been hidden due to potentially suggestive or obscene content.”
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Some of the prohibited terms exclude searches that might be performed by those who need help with the following:
- Addiction
- Anorexia
- Antisemitism
- Bipolar
- Bulimia
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Eating disorder
- Insomnia
- Mental illness
- Racism
- Sexism
- Sexual harassment
- Suicide prevention
- Xenophobia
The company says it is taking two additional measures:
Blog access: If you tap on a blog through the Tumblr iOS app that has been flagged as inappropriate due to these changes, you will see the same message as above and will not be able to access that blog.
Dashboard: For iOS users, in the “stuff for you” and “following” sections of your dashboard, you may see fewer suggested posts based on the changes being made.
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Information source: 9to5mac.com
