Apple issues warning over first porn app launched on iPhone

The tech giants say they are "deeply concerned about the safety risks".

Hot Tub describes itself as an "adult content browser" and will let iOS users who live in the EU both search for and play videos from adult websites, including Pornhub.

iPhone turns 18 this year, which means it’s finally old enough for some more ~mature~ apps…

Introducing Hot Tub by @C1d3rDev, the world’s 1st Apple-approved porn app!

Try it now on AltStore PAL — just in time for the season of love ❤️

Source: https://t.co/81ja9rSpCR pic.twitter.com/VW37rb6K5h

— AltStore.io (@altstoreio) February 3, 2025

It claims to be "the first Apple-approved porn app", but Apple has released a statement emphatically denying this.

The company say they are furious that it has effectively been forced to allow an app on iPhones that would otherwise be blocked under Apple's App Store rules.

The app has become available in the third-party app marketplace AltStore – and Apple say they are "deeply concerned about the safety risks."

🙋‍♂️To answer some questions: Hot Tub is NOT visible in AltStore PAL by default, and it is not a Recommended Source

You must explicitly add its source before it will appear in AltStore PAL — just like the majority of AltStore apps. This means you'll only see it if you want to 🙂 https://t.co/4uCWL8MJSe

— AltStore.io (@altstoreio) February 3, 2025

AltStore arrived in the EU just under a year ago thanks to European Union regulation that forced Apple to allow alternative app marketplaces in the region.

Since the App Store opened in 2008, Apple has had strict control over what users can download on their devices.

According to TechRadar, Apple famously prohibited “overtly sexual or pornographic material” on its own iOS store, as Steve Jobs once said it had “a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone”.

However, AltStore PAL said the new porn app had been “approved” by the tech giant.

In a statement published in Forbes, Apple said: "We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids. 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."

"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. 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", the statement added.

In other words, had this app came through Apple’s official App Store, it absolutely would not have been approved.

CEO and founder of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, responded to the statement in a series of tweets posted earlier this week.

This isn’t how platforms should work: on Windows, Mac, and Linux, developers can make and release apps without the platform maker adding junk fees and rendering moral judgments on their decisions. On iOS, Apple forces its processes on developers against their wishes.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) February 3, 2025

Our response to Apple's statement on Hot Tub pic.twitter.com/AvMOdDVaVp

— AltStore.io (@altstoreio) February 4, 2025