Here’s why Apple banned Tumblr on iOS

For those who use Tumblr, it’s a treasure-trove of content that millions around the globe truly cherish. It is a platform where you can meet like-minded individuals and follow blogs that are very interesting. For some, it can be an outlet to share their creativity in the form of artwork, recipes, photography and so much more. However, pornography is rampant as well. At times, there are some miscreants who abuse Tumblr’s terms of use and upload unsavoury content that usually doesn’t get past Tumblr’s strict filters. However, no AI is yet completely foolproof and this has caused the app to be pulled out of Apple’s iOS App Store.

As per a report by CNET, if you are searching for the app on the App Store, you will face no luck as Apple has taken down the Tumblr — reason — child pornography that managed to slip through the app’s filters.

When website Download.com reached out to Tumblr as to what the reason for the app’s removal, a spokesperson provided a lengthy statement which said, "We're committed to helping build a safe online environment for all users, and we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to media featuring child sexual exploitation and abuse. As this is an industry-wide problem, we work collaboratively with our industry peers and partners like [the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children] (NCMEC) to actively monitor content uploaded to the platform. Every image uploaded to Tumblr is scanned against an industry database of known child sexual abuse material, and images that are detected never reach the platform. A routine audit discovered content on our platform that had not yet been included in the industry database. We immediately removed this content. Content safeguards are a challenging aspect of operating scaled platforms. We're continuously assessing further steps we can take to improve and there is no higher priority for our team."

Tumblr has been missing from the iOS App Store since a week now and Tumblr has issued a separate statement — “We're working to resolve an issue with the iOS app and hope to be fully functional again soon. We really appreciate your patience as we figure this out, and we'll update this article when we have news to share.”

Probably, this could be a boon for many others too — those who already have Tumblr installed on their iOS device can use it without any constraints. However, for those looking to download it, as of 23 November, the app is still unlisted. For those who have uninstalled the app, it can be still found in the Purchased section in the App Store on the iPhone/iPad and you could be lucky if you are able to reinstall the app again.