Apple's removal of 'sexual' apps now hits Swimwear Sellers

As Apple has officially clarified its new ban on "overtly sexual content" in the App Store, one application featuring pictures of women in bikinis -- to sell beachwear -- found itself removed.

Designer swimwear retailer Simply Beach, based in the U.K., was removed from the iPhone and iPod touch App Store last Friday. Andrew Long, managing director of Exploding Phone, the firm responsible for developing the application, spoke with AppleInsider about the situation. He said his company received the same e-mail that Apple sent to other developers, which stated "overtly sexual content" was being removed from the download destination due to "numerous complaints" from customers.

The developer has attempted to contact Apple since last Friday to no avail, but Long feels like the Simply Beach application has been wrongfully removed from the App Store, because it does not feature any sexual content. He said the store is showing off its products, some of which happen to be bikinis. The pictures, he said, are the exact same found on the Simply Beach official Web site, simplybeach.com.

"To add insult to injury, the customer actually sells some of their goods through an Amazon feed, which interestingly is still available through the Amazon app," Long told AppleInsider. "I'm sure if you searched in the Amazon app for more questionable items, you'd also find many items which are much worse by the average person's moral compass."

Phil Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing for Apple, spoke with The New York Times about Apple's newfound policy on applications with sexual content. He said the Cupertino, Calif., company wanted to make sure the App Store did not scare off potential customers, as numerous parents had become upset with what their children could access on the iPhone and iPod touch. The forthcoming iPad will also have access to the App Store.

Soures: appleinsider