Apple Pulls Viddy App Over Too Much Flesh

CUPERTINO, Calif.—It’s been a while since we reported on an app being kicked out of the Apple App Store because it was too sexy, which probably means that most developers have finally gotten the message about Apple and sex.  But a new app was pulled from the store last night, and the problem was too much flesh being displayed. Not surprisingly, the app, called Viddy, enables mobile video sharing. “The goal is to enable users to take advantage of the high-quality video cameras in their pockets and to share moments with friends, hopefully to become a type of ‘Instagram for video,’” reported GigaOm. “Viddy is one of the most well-funded in the category, with a $6 million Series A round from Battery Ventures, Greycroft Ventures and Qualcomm that closed a few weeks ago. It’s also gotten some buy-in from major content providers like Disney, which it partnered with for the release of the new Muppets movie.” Viddy is not the only video-sharing app on the market, to be sure, but it has still seen its popularity soar, according to GigaOm, which said that only yesterday, “it was one of the top five apps in the App Store’s photo and video category.” Viddy CEO Brett O’Brien told Steve Kovach at Business Insider that it was never the company’s intent to become the next “haven for explicit content.” The app was one of the top-rated and downloaded apps for people above the age of nine before it was pulled. “To put that in context,” wrote Kovach. “Instapaper, an app that lets you save any online article and read it later on your iPhone or iPad, is rated for ages 17 and up.” But Kovach added, “It's still hard to imagine that the problem went unnoticed until yesterday. It's clear from the moment you launch Viddy that a huge portion of its users are there to share sexually explicit content.” Kovach compared Viddy to Chaturbate—another product that made a big splash, only to succumb to the exhibitionist tendencies of thousands of anonymous users—only that app was not underwritten by Disney and marketed to nine-year-olds. O’Brien said the story does not have an ending yet, telling Business Insider that Viddy is working to get the app back in the Apple Store once the offending content is removed and protections are developed to keep Viddy fleshless. What O’Brien did not speculate about is whether the app will be as popular as it was once the ability to be naughty is removed. Of course, with publicity like this, Viddy’s popularity may take on a life of its own and no longer need the Apple App Store to find and keep its audience. For more information about Viddy, go here.