The moment has arrived: The first app with pornographic content is now available for iPhone: Hot TubAfter years of preventing this type of content from being available on the App Store, Apple has been unable to do anything about this app because it is offered on the alternative store AltStore, and its anger is monumental.
The DMCA, the European regulation that has allowed the installation of app stores other than the App Store on our iPhones and iPads, has already had one of the consequences most feared by Apple: pornographic applications. Hot Tub claims to be the “first porn app approved by Apple”, as advertised on social networks as you can see in the image above. And precisely for this reason Apple is so angry: Apple has not approved anythingIf it had been up to her, this app would never have made it to the iPhone.
We are deeply concerned about the security risks that hardcore pornographic apps of this kind create for EU users, especially children. This app and others like it will undermine consumer trust in our ecosystem that we have worked on for over a decade to make the best in the world. Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would never offer it on our App Store. The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators such as AltStore and Epic, who may not share our concerns about user safety.
And although All applications distributed in alternative stores must pass through Apple's filter, the limitations that the company can put can only refer to issues such as malware, fraud and the like, but not to the content of the same. Apple cannot prevent pornographic applications from being in stores like AltStore, but there is a big difference between that and being approved by Apple. The applications that are included in these stores can not only include pornography, but also drugs, alcohol, hate speech and other content that would never be in the App Store, but European regulations do require that alternatives be allowed in storesThis was one of the arguments the company used to try to prevent alternative stores, but without success.
The procedure for Installing these applications is not simple, because it requires allowing the installation of the alternative store and then, within it, adding the application repositories that include them. It is much more direct to use an internet browser like Safari, already installed on our iPhone, and browse the hundreds of websites with this type of content. However, Apple believes that the fact that it is an application implies greater user confidence than Apple itself has allowed it.
What does Epic have to do with all this? Its alternative game store, outside the App Store, which includes games like Fortnite, is inside AltStore. So inevitably Epic has been involved in this controversy, so it wanted to make it clear that it has nothing to do with Hot Tub, included in another different repository. However, Apple is not so convinced of this, since it does not forget that Epic has been the one to give funding to AltStore so that it is completely free and not have to charge its users €1,50 per year to cover the fee that Apple charges alternative stores.