Apple strips App Store of scantily clad women, removes 5,000 apps

By on Feb 23, 2010 at 9:29 AM
Software February 23, 2010

Girl Applications App Store

This week, you might have heard that Apple removed over 5,000 applications from its mobile App Store. What did most of the apps have in common?  Scantily clad women. Apple’s VP of World Wide Marketing, Phil Schiller, was quoted by the New York Times: “It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see.” Whatever the reason, the move did come as a shock to some developers. Fred Clarke, co-president of “On the Go Girls” said, “I’m shocked. We’re showing stuff that’s racier than the Disney Channel, but not by much. It’s very hard to go from making a good living to zero. For developers, how do you know you aren’t going to invest thousands into a business only to find out one day you’ve been cut off?” On the Go Girls had all fifty of their mobile applications removed from the App Store; the company was grossing thousands of dollars a day from downloads. Schiller went onto say, “We obviously care about developers, but in the end have to put the needs of the kids and parents first.” We’ve got the full Times article queued up for your reading enjoyment.

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  • Moosebump

    Its about time someone took a stand for our women and kids! Thanks you Steve Jobs.

    Now, can you remove that awful Safari web browser app that allows my son access to actual nudity and pornography? oh the horror. I found him in the bathroom with his iPhone using the touchscreen – but not with with his fingers. gasp!

    And while we’re at it, I have found R rated movies in the iTunes store. Surely this is a mistake. They should be banned at once. And there are some highly offensive audiobooks and podcasts about sex and other lude topics. Time to revive the old fashioned book burning! Do hard drives burn?

    And don’t get me started on rap music and all the explicit lyrics in that horrible rock and roll music.

    Please Steve help save us from ourselves!

    • 2FR35H

      I hope you are being sarcastic with that because if not there are tons of things wrong with your statement.

      • Mike

        No wonder all the funny comments don’t get any love.

        People don’t understand tongue in cheek humor.

        Bravo, Moosebump! You see the slippery slope plain and simple!

        Censorship is…to use a word that fits the educational level of those trying to employ it… SILLY.

    • Matt

      Or…we can just steer clear of Apple and get a real phone that can do anything instead of having Apple tell us what we can and can’t do.

    • Darrell

      I understand your concerns about this with children being exposed to these issues and I agree that they are exposed to much nowadays.. But lady, quit pushing your beliefs upon others.. I am a grown adult and I pay for my service for my phone..This borders upon infringing upon my first amendment rights as well as others.. I have fought in two wars for this country and have fought for my rights as yours so that we may speak as free as we would like!.. But for gods sake..stand up and do your job as a parent and put controls or restrictions on your childs phone.. Yes they are there..It is not our governments responsibility or the publics to raise your child.. It is yours and yours solely..Take responsibility for your child being exposed to this.. you could have prevented it.. As for my kids.. the restrictions are on the tv, computer, cell phones… etc… I make sure that I always check it monthly to assure that these steps have not failed me or my children… DO YOUR JOB>>> From the Patriot who is sick and tired of America giving away there rights…

      • Moosebump

        Honestly, you read that and thought I was serious??

  • V-4-Vendetta

    Kids shouldn’t have access to any device that can directly access the internet without restriction…I’m tired about hearing about my duty to protect your awful kids…

    That rational means Safari browser should be removed because kids could possibly bring up nudie pictures…

  • rudy

    So much for free market. ………personally I thought all those apps were pointless but hey its your money.

  • http://www.nitgreen.com/ nitGreen

    Yes it is first children and parents who should be protected but Apple should have decide it all before which could have same children and developer well before time.

  • LaToya (AKA Digital Nightmare)

    I hope they got rid of those stupid sex positions apps, you have no business having sex if you don’t know how to naturally work your body into positions of pleasure.

    • MonkeyCheese

      So would that apply to those people who buy the Karma Sutra books? Maybe people want to learn about different positions to try.

      • LaToya (AKA Digital Nightmare)

        Working the vagina and penis together comes naturally. I don’t know how gay people get down, I just know some men stick it in the butt, and some women shove their hands up each others’ twat.

  • neeka

    Adult App will always be a part of our life, I don’t see any reason why Apple should ban it. All the while, Android does allow Porn store and even some explicit poses… Take another “peek” with the latest adult craze on the android store

    And the plot thickens with this one.

    • Cadillac Cowboy

      Interesting that Apple have refused to remove the “Playboy” and “FHM” applications, even though both feature plenty of skin and/or other erotic content… One rule for the big names, one rule for everyone else.

      Anyway, this is a classic example of why I’ll NEVER buy an iPhone product – I’m nearly 30 and if I’m going to be prevented from buying an application that may be considered “offensive” or “sexual” just because Apple says so, well I’ll stick to my BlackBerry… It’s not that I WOULD buy such applications, but rather the principal – ratings systems are not that hard to implement, as countless products have proved over the years (it’s even easier for electronic media, such as applications!).

  • victoria

    lets try this one

  • Post

    This is the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard

  • goofy

    When will someone address the IMPORTANT issue here.

    hundreds of thousands of those apps were sold BY apple and disabled BY apple, but apple kept our money !!!!

    So imagine MS sells a copy of windows, then disables it and keeps your money. Its the same thing.

    How can they turn off something we paid for already? When their own store offered it ?????

  • goofy

    Apple sold these sex apps to us. These apps passed their process and the money was accepted by Apple, not the developers.

    Apple then shut them off.

    Now Apple kept our money but we can’t use the apps !!!!!! I have like 25 apps that won’t run now.

    This is really unfair.

    Really, this is a class action easy win. Some greedy attorney could get famous with this multi million dollar suit that will be a 1,2,3, win.

    Apple could at least give us a credit or something, we got these in their itunes store. this is really unfair.

  • http://www.JohnReakin.com anonymousTSR

    Are you conservative?! That’s a wonderful way of putting that… “entitled mentality”… (no, i’m not being sarcastic totally serious)

    With a proprietary app store like Apple has, they get to pick and choose what they’d like to sell.. After all, even though it’s a developer app… Apple, Inc. would still have to stand behind the product to some extent since it’s on their devices. Plus, in the beginning introduction of the App store almost 2 years ago, Jobs specifically put on the Keynote presentation they’d ban/refuse anything on the app store that’s pornographic in any way. Don’t believe me? Re-watch his keynote of the App store launch.

    Apple made the right call on this.

  • Shakir

    please explain why they left playboy and the SI app then.

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