Yes, the headline is accurate. The first adult content app is now on the iPhone and has launched on AltStore‘s alternative marketplace in the PAL region (which covers Europe, parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania).
The app, Hot-Tub, describes itself as an ad-free adult content browser and has reportedly passed Apple’s notarization review. According to AltStore’s thread post, it was developed by c1d3r and will be available for download immediately in the EU.
Apple does not allow overly sexual content on the App Store, with a “moral obligation to keep (adult content) off the iPhone,” with Steve Jobs noting in an email regarding the subject that if anyone wanted to download such apps, they should “buy an Android.”
AltStore PAL went live in April 2024 and was one of the first alternative iOS marketplaces available. It included apps and utilities like retro game emulators, torrenting software unavailable on the App Store, and Fortnite. Emulators were previously banned from the App Store due to copyrighted content.
Riley Testut, a developer for AltStore, told The Verge, “We feel this is necessary to fight back against recent harmful policies by politicians, Meta, and others.” The Verge has speculated that Testut is referring to the Hateful Conduct policy changes made in the U.S., which removes protections for LGBTQ+ members, women, and other marginalized groups.
AltStore has announced that, alongside the release, it will donate all of its Patreon earnings for February to organizations supporting sex workers and the LGBTQ+ community. AltStore will donate to the Trevor Project and the Red Umbrella Fund.
Source: The Verge
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