jdg:
Some of you may have seen recently that Apple added a content rating system to the store. Unfortunately, they’ve decided to consider all applications that have access to 3rd party content, as a potential loophole and therefore must all be rated 17+.
In this particular case though, Postie does not allow access to 3rd party content. Postie only connects to our backend servers to access the content that the user themselves added to the system. What’s that content? Their e-mail settings. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
So, explain to me again why Postie contains mature or suggestive themes? Oh wait, it doesn’t. It also doesn’t have a built in browser. And, of course, doesn’t provide access to 3rd party content.
I can’t help but wonder what will happen when I try to post the next update to Outpost. It’s a Basecamp client, and so therefore technically accesses ‘third-party content,’ in that one user could write ‘fuck shit arse wank bollocks cunt’ as the comment on a to-do item about fixing a horrendous bug somewhere, and a user of our app could then see that.
I mean, come on folks— games have had a solution to this for ages: look at the rating tag on the back of any online-capable game and you’ll see “Online interactions not rated by the ESRB.” How hard would it be to include a disclaimer like that?
I’m with Marco on this one: add a note that the app provides access to unfiltered third-party content, and disclaim that such content cannot be rated. And maybe have your web-filtering stuff apply to UIWebViews in third-party apps, not just Safari, if unfiltered raw internet access is a bit risqué for your tastes?
