‘Hook up’ apps at risk under Apple’s new guidelines — Will Grindr be banned?
With the recent new guideline to the Apple app store. Rumors have been circulating around social media that Grindr may potentially be banned together with every other hook up apps found in the app.
However, in a recent statement released by Apple, it has been confirmed that Grindr will not be banned following the updated guidelines.
The New Apple Store Guidelines
At the recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held on June 7 to June 11, 2021. Apple has announced a change in their app store legal guideline (1.1.4), announcing that they will be banning any dating apps that are unlawful.
This includes hook up apps that distributes pornography and/or used as a medium for prostitution. In other words, the change in app store legal guidelines is due to the rise in unlawful apps that uses dating as a guise to their illegal activities.
The guideline basically states that if the dating app displays activities that are meant to stimulate sexual feeling rather than emotional feeling, then the app is subject to be banned.
Grindr Ban Rumors: Why Was It Overstated?
According to a recent article on AppleInsider guideline 1.1.4 was a change that was made to target apps that are not legitimate dating apps. As mentioned before, apps that features pornography and/or used for prostitution.
Which means that legitimate dating apps like Grindr and Scruff are not affected. The rumors of such ban are simply due to misinterpretation of the new guideline.
Users simply was confused by guideline 1.1.4 and somehow seen the new guideline as a hint that Apple is looking to crack down on gay dating apps. The rumors spread like wildfire across all social media platform, especially Twitter, where users seen the new guideline as America falling into a Christian dystopia.
Thus Apple having to consistently disprove such narrative and reiterating that legitimate dating apps like Grindr and Scruff are not on the ban list.
Other Changes Announced On WWDC 2021
In addition to the 1.1.4 guideline, Apple has also added a new guideline which focuses on human trafficking. According to the same article found on AppleInsider this new guideline can be found under the ‘’Safety’’ section of the Review guidelines.
Where any app that is guilty of human trafficking or found to be exploiting children will be taken down/rejected and reported to the appropriate authorities.
Additionally, in section 5.6 (Developer Code of Conduct) of the guideline, Apple is looking to crack down on frauds. This includes fraudulent rating and review, account fraud, and payment and credit fraud.
Anyone who uses their account to commit fraud will be subject to their account being removed from the Apple developer program and terminated if the account is found to be engaged in activities that does not follow the Developer Code of Conduct.
It is also stated that, if you are looking to restore your account, you would need to provide a written statement regarding the improvement you are looking to make. Your account may be restored only if Apple approves of your plan to improve and sees that such changes are being made.
