This is strange, very strange. Apple has removed all apps that contain, well, almost anything sexual. They seem to have changed their rules, once again, on what is allowed in the App Store. Developers are reporting info with the following standards:

1. No images of women in bikinis
2. No images of men in bikinis!
3. No skin
4. No silhouettes that indicate that Wobble can be used for wobbling boobs
5. No sexual connotations or innuendo: boobs, babes, booty, sex – all banned
6. Nothing that can be sexually arousing!!
7. No apps will be approved that in any way imply sexual content

Ok, so first of all, I can tell you that so far it seems to be true. Last week I just taught a class teaching parents how to use the parental control features of the iPhone and iPod touch to protect their kids against apps in the App Store. I was showing them that even in the top 25 free apps, adult apps would show up even without searching for terms. These apps are no longer there and they were there for quite a while. What’s also strange is that apps like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and the Playboy apps are still in the store.

Apple originally banned these types of apps and then later allowed them. Now they are banning them again.

Maybe they started to ban them at the beginning of the App Store days and then started getting sued and decided to allow them.

Now, after getting legal things straightened out, they started banning again? Who knows…

Note: I’ve noticed that apps that have textual descriptions about sex positions are still in the store… Maybe it’s just a visual thing.