Breasts and the iPhone have had a tumultuous relationship. Last month, an application that allowed users to shake a pair (possibly NSFW) of 3D breasts was banned from the App Store for being apparently too risque for its audience.
A few weeks later an application called Wobble made it into the App Store using something of a loophole – instead of offering pre-rendered mammary shaking, it allowed users to add their own ‘wobble points’ to any picture, which could conceivably have more tame applications (of course, the site made the designed purpose very clear in its demo video, which can be seen below).
Now it looks like Apple is having second thoughts. After hitting the top spot on the Japanese App Store and seeing 20,000 downloads over ten days, Wobble has been asked by Apple to remove anything having to do with ‘Boobs’ and ‘Booty’ from their marketing text. Developer Jon Atherton writes that he tried to point out that this was outright censorship, only to (unsurprisingly) be told that it was Apple’s way or the highway.
But ‘Boobs’ and ‘Booty’ are used many times elsewhere on iTunes, so why can’t they appear on the App Store? Atherton writes:
Doing a search for “Boobs” in iTunes returns 143 results – many of them marked explicit, a search for “Booty” returns 150 items. Not surprisingly Wobble appears at the top of the list in both search terms. there are hundreds of songs in the charts that use the words Booty and Boobies. I asked “Why are Apps different?” – [Apple's] response, I’m only here to talk to you about the Appstore and can’t comment on iTunes.
Apple has also asked that Wobble modify its YouTube video (seen below), though it sounds like they aren’t mandating a change. Atherton also notes that Apple doesn’t have an issue with the app itself; only with its marketing.
The ban on “sexy” words isn’t particularly surprising given how new the App Store is. Apple is still experimenting with new policies – for months it didn’t allow any ‘burp’ or ‘fart’ apps, which have grown to become disturbingly popular, and it only recently began allowing for developers to build their own web browsers. But the store has a rating system for a reason, and the arbitrary restrictions are tough on developers, who are left wondering what they’re allowed to write about and what they can show.
Jelly good!
I call Bullshit. Our app is ahead of their in the appstore, and we have not had 20k downloads.
I like to play booty over boobs..
What a silly claim to make Mr BS. How could you possibly know where Wobble was in every app store worldwide in relation to yours?
Perhaps if you checked the other stores worldwide you’d realize there are more to sales numbers than just the USA…
For example – do you *know* how many apps you can sell at #1 in Japan?
http://www.appl...phone/appstore/
Interesting how an app like this does not even rank in the USA, but is very popular in Japan. They should add an Octopus feature.
@Jonau, Good point, I am in the habit of only checking my country, which is not Japan, or the USA.
We prefer to sell the porn direct at http://babestation.tv but I guess Apple think that the internet and mobile can make money some other way , xx
The demo sucks, and the demo boobs are fake.
Pathetic effort.
thankfully we’ve only used real booty… (oops I said it again) in the demo though.
we’ll be sure to only use real models in future…
if apple ever let porn in app store their marketcap would skyrocketed to the 200 billion range
I agree. porn has always been the holy grail of technology – it’s the true leader – from vhs to broadband, it always brings in the bucks and the first adopters. 200 billion? maybe not – but certainly significantly more. I can’t find the link now, but I remember reading an article about all the huge media companies which profit off porn – from ATT to ZZZ – seems everyone, acknowledged or not, was making money and facilitating it in some way.
Apple makes money from porn indirectly, just like AT&T.
AT&T sells the bandwidth. Apple sells video editing software.
only a guy with no gf would say something like that
get a life!
20k downloads in 10 days aint sh@t …. and this makes to techcrunch?
Hmm wonder how/if this will effect Booty Blocks, the fairly popular game in the App Store. “Booty” after all, can have a double meaning if you happen to be a pirate.
When is Apple going to stop with the stupidity of blocking/checking every single app?
If users want to download it. Let them!
Why do I need Apple to tell me what I can download/install?
ex-iPhone user.
Now using a BB and moving to a Palm Pre in the near future.
Oh, SCIENCE!
I mean, Oh, TECHNOLOGY!
Apple is giving us a hard time about LittleWingman™ and it doesn’t even show boobs, booty or use profanity!
Go figure.
fuck you
once again fuck you
Just downloaded the app. Does the job. Apple has definitely brought new direction to the cell phone market. (I’m still a Blackberry addict tho)
http://www.twit...com/cliffdailey
Is that the guy from Flight of the Conchords?
Yea that sounds EXACTLY like Jemaine.
I don’t know what’s funnier, that someone took the time to build that, or that he has all those jiggly pinups on his phone and he’s married.
I think its cool.
That video is as crappy as the app itself. And both are as crappy as Apple’s fascist App Store.
Still, they grossed $20k in a week and a half during the worst recession in 80 years.
What’s really revolutionary about this app? It proves that people do like to see women’s body parts move around in a jiggly fashion. Tell that to the anorexics of the world, really, they need to know.
I’m with you on that. Never understood how in the West, the ideal of female beauty is a woman whose body looks like that of a 10 year old boy.
Give me curves, give me bouncing, give me jiggles. Me likes it very much.
@a girl, relax dear. Don’t take a breast wobbling application so seriously. Like the guy in the video said its a `technological breakthrough’ and im with him on that.
Just port this to android im sure they dont mind a lil boob and booty
I like big butts…
…and I cannot lie
Apple Better ban Joost becuse some of Joosts BEST content is BOOBS and BUMS
oh my gosh!
what a nice app!
Crappy censorship from Apple. That sucks. Why is it Apple’s job to be the morality police?
http://friendfe...ppy-Censorship/
Wtf apple…stop being such a dick!
Boobs.. on the I phone?
finally my 2 favorite things come together at last!
Stupid Apple, who are THEY to tell ME what I can anc cant do on MY phone? Jail break your phone and you can put whatever you want on it!
RT
http://www.total-privacy.us.tc
Just shows you how Apple’s restrictions led to greater innovation. This app is way better than the original.
… Just to mention, it’s now also forbidden to come to work at Apple with boobs… ;)
Personnal message to the creators of Wobble app : you definitly need to visit this :
http://www.app-store-vet.com
Computer geeks apparently dont have time for a little harmless fun.
Here’s a really simple work-around.
Relaunch the app whose function is to create animated bobble heads. Don’t even mention T&A.
Had they done that to begin with, someone would have come up with the idea to use it for animating *other* things and it still would have gone viral.
Just for clarity.
The Wobble Application is still available for sale.
The description has just been modified.
The Application still works just as it did before.
Thanks for the post Jason!
Does anyone know a list of keywords or subjects that Apple doesn’t want on the App Store?
I’m guessing it’s in the developer agreement?
The way Apple see the issue is that you can literally upload nude photos into the application and shake the tits.
Even though other apps or itunes files are displayed in the store under ‘boobs’ they do not contain explicit content.
Look at iGirl for example (i guess it’s a competitor app but accomplished in totally different way). The virtual girl can do what ever you want but doesn’t shake the nude tits. That’s the point I guess.
Apple is just doing the job
If you’re willing to jailbreak your iPhone, now there’s an app that lets you strip a girl naked and go all the way. It’s a game, with a video model, and you get scored on technique. On Twitter @ufook
Just wanted you to know we’ve linked to this article in our ‘Top 10 Banned iPhone Apps.’
http://www.odes...ed-iphone-apps/
Hope you can take a look. Thanks! –Tamara