Tumblr Bans Adult Content On Its App To Stay On The App Store

Many Tumblr users flock to the site to talk online. (photo: Doc. Tumblr)

JAKARTA - Tumblr users who tagged their personal blogs with the "adult" tag are no longer accessible on the iOS app. It is claimed this is a new Apple policy, and allows Tumblr to remain in the App Store.

If users access it, they will now be presented with a pop-up notification explaining that the content has been hidden due to potentially suggestive or explicit content.

Not only that, this social networking site also applies certain uploads to be hidden in the search function and in the user dashboard, which displays recommended uploads, as well as content from users they follow.

"To keep us on Apple's App Store and our Tumblr iOS app available, we need to make changes that will help us better comply with their policies around sensitive content," Tumblr wrote in its official blog post.

It was recently discovered that a Tumblr user developed a list of unofficial crowdsourced tags that the Tumblr app on iOS has banned from complying with this policy. These tags include porn, drugs and sex.

Many Tumblr users flock to the site to speak anonymously about their experiences, but some of these tag bans effectively censor the conversation. Tags related to common coping practices for autistic people are also prohibited, along with tags such as depression, PTSD and bipolar.

"We understand that these adjustments will affect how users can access potentially sensitive content while using our iOS apps, and that can be frustrating," Tumblr told TechCrunch.

"We are working on a more thoughtful solution to be rolled out in the near future and we will continue to update the community as the work continues."

Tumblr has faced years of struggle with approval in the iOS App Store. In 2018, the iOS app Tumblr was removed from the App Store after child sexual abuse material (CSAM) entered through the app's filtering technology.

A month later, the platform reacted by banning all porn and other sexually explicit content, resulting in an immediate 29 percent drop in monthly traffic. Since then, the platform's web traffic has remained relatively stagnant.