In December 2021, Tumblr found itself at war with Apple. And Tumblr's presence on the App Store was at stake. So, what's the story?
In an effort to create a slightly more family-friendly environment and community for Tumblr's iOS users, the iOS Tumblr app now prevents users from accessing inappropriate content through several different channels of inquiry. This includes a long list of tags most people would consider completely harmless.
Tumblr Imposes New Search Restrictions on Its iOS App
Tumblr's search algorithm has been modified to restrict certain types of "restricted content."
In compliance with Apple's policy on safety, access to shocking, offensive, and controversial posts and topics on Tumblr through its iOS app will be restricted greatly, at least for now.
Tumblr expanded what counts as offensive enough to be banned in order for the app to remain available and accessible on Apple's App Store.
You can check out the official announcement on Tumblr's Work in Progress Blog. But what does this development mean for those who use the Tumblr iOS app?
How Will Tumblr iOS Be Different Moving Forward?
The objective of this effort is to prevent the young and impressionable from accessing content that may be harmful to them. The change has only taken place on iOS, so only iOS users will even notice that anything has changed.
The three main areas of the service affected through this provision are the app's search functionality, access to questionable blogs, and the user's own personal dashboard.
1. Tumblr Search on iOS
The most-discussed aspect of these new rules is the way that the app now limits what a query yields when a user searches for any of a number of "banned" tags.
While Tumblr hasn't officially listed what tags have been banned, Tumblr users have been figuring it out. And the list of tags now banned on Tumblr's iOS ap include "beard," "girl," "insomnia," "mine," "self," "tagged," and possibly most bizarrely of all, "Alec Lightwood".
This isn't exactly a blanket ban, however; while some search terms will simply bring back fewer results than they would have before, other, stronger keywords and phrases might not bring back anything for you at all.
That's right. For topics deemed highly-offensive, you may be met with the dreaded "This content has been hidden" message, preventing you from proceeding.
2. Blog Access on Tumblr iOS
All personal blogs on Tumblr have the option to flag themselves as existing for the consumption of mature audiences only. These blogs will no longer be accessible through the Tumblr iOS app, but they're not the only ones.
Tumblr's announcement suggested that many blogs that are not flagged in this way will also no longer be accessible through the iOS app "due to these changes." They don't elaborate upon this review process; all that we know is that the content will be hidden in the same way as described above.
3. Your Tumblr Dashboard on iOS
Those who live on Tumblr's "Stuff for You" page may be disappointed to see fewer recommendations for content and blogs to follow, as more and more offensive content is pushed to the sidelines. It's unclear whether or not there will be any way for Tumblr users to this restriction.
Other Changes iOS Tumblr App Users May Notice
In addition to these overarching categories, things like reblogs and likes from accounts deemed offensive may be hidden under a post's notes.
Some images included in reblog chains from these accounts may also be censored within the post. Only time will tell whether or not these changes will improve the community as a whole.
What to Do if Your Tumblr Blog Gets Banned on iOS
Tumblr does offer a review process in order to appeal any wrongfully-imposed rulings on either blogs or uploaded content. So if you've fallen victim to this type of misunderstanding yourself, you should see a large red banner on anything found to be in violation of Tumblr's latest community guidelines.