An Update on the Tumblr iOS App
For those of you who access Tumblr through our iOS app, we wanted to share that starting today you may see some differences for search terms and recommended content that can contain specific types of sensitive content. In order to comply with Apple’s App Store Guidelines, we are having to adjust, in the near term, what you’re able to access as it relates to potentially sensitive content while using the iOS app.
To remain available within Apple’s App Store, we are having to extend the definition of what sensitive content is as well as the way you access it in order to comply with their guidelines. To learn more about Apple’s App Store Guidelines, click here.
How you may experience these changes
There are three main ways you may experience these changes while using our iOS app: search, blog access and dashboard.
Search
When searching for certain terms or phrases that may fall under the expanded definition of sensitive content, you may experience fewer results from that query than you have in the past. In certain circumstances, a search may not produce any results at all and you will see a message like the one below:
Blog access
If you tap on a blog through the iOS Tumblr app that is flagged as explicit due to these changes, you will see the same message as above and will not be able to access that blog.
Dashboard
For iOS users, under our “stuff for you” and “following” sections within the dashboard, you may see fewer suggested posts based on the changes being made.
To learn more about these changes and how you may experience them, please visit our Help Center article here.
Why these changes are being made
We want to make sure Tumblr is available everywhere you would like to access it. In order for us to remain in Apple’s App Store and for our Tumblr iOS app to be available, we needed to make changes that would help us be more compliant with their policies around sensitive content.
We understand that, for some of you, these changes may be very frustrating – we understand that frustration and we are sorry for any disruption that these changes may cause. Please know that on the near horizon there will be meaningful developments that will overhaul how you choose to access sensitive content safely on Tumblr – whether visiting us on mobile, mobile web or through our website.
Who this impacts
These changes will only impact those who are accessing Tumblr through the iOS app. If you are using our Android app, accessing Tumblr through mobile web or online through www.tumblr.com, your experience will not be impacted.
How long this will last
While we don’t have an exact timeline for how long these changes will be in effect, we are working on additional features that will allow for a less restricted iOS app experience. We anticipate this work to be ready in the near future and we will keep you all updated on our Changes blog as that work continues.
For more information on our guidelines or to understand these changes more fully, please visit:
For those of you that may have missed our post on the @wip blog, we are sharing it here with the following updates:
- We are continuing to review the list of tags that cannot be accessed in the current iOS app. Thanks to everyone who wrote in to Support and/or made posts about this. We expect the review process to really pick up in January.
- We are working on a web-based toggle that would allow folks to opt into allowing sensitive content in the iOS app.
We appreciate your patience as we work through these changes, and we will keep you posted on our progress as we go along. Stay tuned to @changes and @wip for future updates.
