The Verge
Apple has “paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages”
after developers and commentators criticized
the types of advertisements showing up in the iPhone’s App Store, according to a statement from
spokesperson Trevor Kincaid.
On Tuesday, Apple announced that companies
could advertise their apps on the store pages for other apps, putting their icon in the “you might also
like” section. Almost immediately, developers started showing examples of ads for gambling apps being
recommended under their apps.
Twitter is also full of screenshots of very inappropriate ad placements: one Twitter user shows a
slot machine app being advertised alongside
gambling addiction recovery
apps, and there are examples of other betting apps being advertised on pages for apps
aimed towards children, adult video chat apps showing up on the Apple Books page, and dating apps being
placed under
apps designed to
improve existing relationships.
Apple has no additional information to share at this time, so it’s unclear how long
the pause will last/what changes might be made/etc.— Joe Rossignol (@rsgnl) October
26, 2022
As
MacRumors reporter Joe
Rossignol points out, Apple hasn’t clarified how long the pause would last, or if it’ll be making any
policy changes based on how the initial rollout has gone down. It’s also unclear which other ad categories have
been paused.
Apple’s rules
for advertising on the App Store do
list apps related to gambling, alcohol, dating, and the pharmaceutical and medical industry as “restricted,”
meaning that there are special rules about where they can be shown. The limitations are mainly about laws
instead of what’s tasteful or potentially harmful though; the site says gambling apps are “prohibited or limited
in some countries and regions,” but doesn’t say anything about the audience they can be served to.
How Apple proceeds could be very important for the future of the iPhone. Reports
have indicated that it’s planning on expanding ads outside the App Store, to apps like Maps, Podcasts,
and Books. Imagine seeing a casino pop up when you search for addiction recovery centers, or erotic novels when
you’re looking for books on dealing with a porn addiction.
The good news for Apple is that there are other companies that have been working on this problem that
it can borrow ideas from, if it’s not too proud to do so. Google, for example, lets you limit
the number of ads you see about potentially sensitive topics like alcohol, gambling, dating, pregnancy,
and weight loss. Apple talks
a big game about how the App Store is a safe place to get software for your phone, and (despite the
many ways it’s
historically failed to prove that) it needs to maintain that appearance. But can it do that while also
trying to show us ads whenever we open its apps?