Tumblr updates its iOS app with a sensitive content toggle to appease Apple

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What you need to know

  • Tumblr has updated its iOS app to add a toggle that controls whether sensitive content is displayed.
  • By default, sensitive content will be hidden.
  • The change was made to "comply with Apple's App Store Guidelines."

Tumblr has announced a change to its iOS app that's now available in the App Store, with the company adding a toggle that can be used to block or enable the appearance of sensitive content. The move was made to allow Tumblr to continue to be available in the App Store following guidance from Apple.

Announced via the Tumblr blog, the new change adds a toggle that, by default, blocks all content that is deemed to be sensitive. Once enabled, such content is freely available and it appears to be enough to appease Apple and its App Store reviewers.

Tumblr explains the move:

In December, we had to make some changes impacting our iOS app to comply with Apple's App Store Guidelines. While we understood that these adjustments would impact how our community is able to access potentially sensitive content while using our iOS app, we also promised that we were working on more thoughtful solutions which would be rolled out in the near future.Today, we're now able to share that update: a feature that will give the Tumblr community on the iOS app more options to build their preferred experience.

The announcement post goes on, saying that the app updates ensure that Tumblr can "comply with Apple's App Store Guidelines."

This move is an improvement over a change in December that hit search results that could be deemed as sensitive as per Apple's requirements. This new toggle seems to have done the trick and the updated Tumblr app can be downloaded for free right now. If you already have the previous app installed, check for updates and you should be good to go.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.