iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009
News Category: iPhone Applications

Following yesterday’s report of an iPhone app touting nudity as one of its selling points, Apple has released a statement saying it will not distribute such applications. Hottest Girls from developer Allen Leung was pulled from the store yesterday afternoon following widespread publicity of the app’s new adult content; the developer blamed the app’s disappearance on heavy server loads. “The server usage is extremely high because of the popularity of this app. Thus, by not distributing the app, we can prevent our servers from crashing… Yes, the topless images will still be there when it is sold again,” said a statement on Leung’s website. It appears, however, that Apple may have had a hand in its removal, and will likely not allow the application back on the App Store in its current form.

“Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography,” Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNN. “The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.” Despite the strong statement from Apple, the App Store listing for Hottest Girls showed the app as being rated 17+ for “Frequent/Intense Sexual Content or Nudity,” suggesting the company was prepared to allow apps with adult content onto the store.