Apple has had no choice but to approve a pornography app for the first time ever, thanks to an overhaul of app store rules in Europe. But it wants you to know it’s not happy about it.
The issue isn’t just the prurient content. Apple says the door has been opened to easier access for malware.
“We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids,” said an Apple spokesperson in a statement. “This app and others like it will undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem that we have worked for more than a decade to make the best in the world.”
The app, Hot Tub, is not available on Apple’s own iOS App Store, but can be downloaded via the third-party AltStore, which can only be accessed on iPhones in Europe. Following the introduction of the Digital Markets Act, the EU demanded last January that Apple open up its famously closed iOS ecosystem to allow iPhone owners access to alternative app stores and apps.
AltStore launched on iOS three months later, allowing iPhone users in Europe access to a third-party app store for the first time, and initially required a subscription fee. That was until Epic Games, one of the companies that has fought Apple on its app store rules over the years, provided AltStore with a grant to offset the costs of providing its alternative shop front on iOS. One of the apps now available is Hot Tub, which features content from the controversial site Porn Hub.
The risk of malware on iPhones
Apple approved the Hot Tub app (it has no other choice, according to EU rules), but the company really wants you to know that it does not actually endorse it — a crucial difference that both Hot Tub and AltStore have not made clear in their marketing materials.
“Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would never offer it in our App Store,” said the Apple spokesperson. “The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic who may not share our concerns for user safety.”
Apple is right to be concerned about its reputation among iPhone users, says IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo. Beyond the risk of children being able to easily access porn, there is a wider safety risk posed by apps that aren’t subject to the same level of rigorous scrutiny Apple uses to determine which apps should be allowed on its own App Store. This opens it up to the risk of malware finding its way onto iPhones — a threat that Apple has long been able to minimize by maintaining control over the iOS app ecosystem.
People whose iPhones end up riddled with malware are unlikely to know or even care whose fault it is, and point the finger at Apple, says Jeronimo. The company’s challenge, and its stated priority, is to try to keep users as safe as possible while implementing the changes demanded by European regulators. It’s a tricky tightrope for the company to walk. “What we are seeing, and what we will see is that at the end of the day, that regulation will put consumers at risk,” said Jeronimo.
The European Commission has long talked a big game about its motivation for cracking down on big US tech companies primarily being to improve the experience for European consumers. The benefit of third-party app stores is that they’ll supposedly increase consumer choice, but many, including Apple, believe the associated safety risks aren’t worth the trade-off.
“There’s absolutely no benefit, apart from a few companies that will distribute their apps and gain some business,” said Jeronimo.
The arrival of Hot Tub on the AltStore is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s inevitable that more such apps, which may pose a variety of problems and risks, will follow.
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