Earlier this year, popular photo-sharing app 500px was yanked from Apple’s App Store for a week or so and then reinstated after the Cupertino company expressed concerns with the level of pornography able to be accessed using the app. 500px instituted a couple of basic safeguards against inappropriate imagery (Apple had mentioned something about possible child porn), and was promptly given their spot back in the store.
I bring this up only to point out that Apple has a history of being pretty hard on apps that promote or distribute any type of adult content (you probably know that already), but it’s especially hard for apps that handle vast amounts of user-generated content (think Vine).
It looks like that’s what’s going on with Imgur. Apparently, they’ve tried and failed several times to get a new iOS app approved.
Speaking to VentureBeat, Imgur CEO Alan Schaaf said that Imgur has had problems getting Apple to stamp their upcoming iOS app. Apparently, Apple has some concerns about content that may infringe on copyright as well as be “inappropriate.”
“Pedobear got us rejected four times,” Schaaf said. “So we’ve made it harder to find crude content.”
You see, Imgur finally launched its first ever mobile app on Monday – on Android. Originally, they wanted to launch on both Android and iOS simultaneously, but that dream was rained on by Apple and their stricter approval process.
But they’re making progress. Schaaf says that he expects to launch the iOS app in a few weeks.