Apple pauses App Store gambling ads after developer outcry


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.
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?
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. As MacRumors reporter Joe Rossignol points out,…
Recent Posts
- Reddit is experiencing outages again
- OpenAI confirms 400 million weekly ChatGPT users – here’s 5 great ways to use the world’s most popular AI chatbot
- Elon Musk’s AI said he and Trump deserve the death penalty
- The GSA is shutting down its EV chargers, calling them ‘not mission critical’
- Lenovo is going all out with yet another funky laptop design: this time, it’s a business notebook with a foldable OLED screen
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010