THE first porn app has dropped on iPhones through an App Store alternative but Apple has issued a warning to its users.
Apple has always banned pornography from its iOS marketplace but a change in EU laws has allowed the app Hot Tub to become available.
This first-of-a-kind Apple app will be available through the App Store alternative AltStore PAL.
European users will be able to download the Hot Tub app onto their devices from today.
A landmark EU digital law change meant Apple was forced to loosen its grip on the apps users are able to access and download on products like iPhones and iPads.
Since the App Store opened in 2008, Apple has had strict control over what users can download on their devices.
Apple famously prohibited “overtly sexual or pornographic material” on its own iOS store, as Steve Jobs once said it had “a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone”.
Despite this, Apple was forced to change its strict stance after it became the first tech giant to be accused of breaking the EU’s new Digital Markets Act.
This 2022 law forced Apple to allow alternative app stores to be used.
AltStore PAL said the new porn app had been “approved” by the tech giant.
The App Store alternative said it passed all of Apple’s baseline “notarization” checks for fraud, security threats, and functionality checks.
This process however does not involve approving an app’s content.
Despite this, Apple has issued a warning against the new iPhone app.
The tech giant even alleged Hot Tub was a danger to children, in a statement to The Verge.
An Apple spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids.
“This app and others like it will undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem that we have worked for more than a decade to make the best in the world.”
Why can you download apps on App Store alternatives?
Apple has strictly controlled what its users can download onto their devices since the App Store opened in 2008.
A 2022 EU law forced the tech giant to allow third-party app storefronts to operate on it’s phones, computers, and tablets.
Apple was accused of breaking the Digital Markets Act antitrust laws.
These new rules are an attempt to level the playing field for smaller tech companies.
Therefore, iPhone users in the EU can now use third-party app marketplaces like AltStore PAL or Epic Games to find different apps.
The DMA also allowed Apple users to set the default web browser of their choice on iPads and allow headphones and smart pens to access iPad OS features.
Apple hit back at AltStore PAL’s claims that the Silicon Valley giant had “approved” the porn site.
It added: “Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would never offer it in our App Store.
“The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic who may not share our concerns for user safety.”
This development has kicked off a spat between tech giants as AltStore has received backing from Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite.
In a post on X, Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said his firm has supported laws like DMA because “when Apple are allowed to be the gatekeeper of competing apps and stores, they grossly misuse that power to disadvantage competition.”
He added that Epic’s own app store in the EU, which rolled out last year, is not carrying the Hot Tub app and has never hosted porn apps.
Створювати собі труднощі – це основне покликання людини, принаймні так може здатися, якщо подивитися на окремих кухарів. Наприклад, взимку кулінари сумно згадують урожай свіжих та ароматних огірків, а як тільки настав час їх збирати, вони думають, як їх засолити. Розкажемо, як засолити огірки дуже швидко без маринаду та розсолу. Для приготування потрібно: 2 кг […]
