First 'approved' 18+ iPhone app is coming to Europe

The first 'Apple-approved' 18+ app for the iPhone is set to launch in Europe, via AltStore PAL's alternative iOS app marketplace. AltStore PAL developer Riley Testut said Hot Tub, which describes itself as an ad-free 'adult content browser,' has passed Apple's review process for fraud, security threats, and functionality, and will be available for download to AltStore PAL users in the EU starting today.

Apple bans '18+ or explicit 18+ content' on its own iOS store. Steve Jobs once responded to an email from a customer questioning the App Store policy, saying that Apple 'has a moral responsibility to remove 18+ content from iPhones' and that people looking for such apps should 'buy an Android phone.' Thanks to the EU's Digital Market Act, iPhone users in the bloc now have more freedom to install other apps.

Apple spokesperson Peter Ajemian emailed this statement to The Verge:

We are extremely concerned about the safety risks that hardcore 18+ apps of this type pose to EU users, especially children. This app and others like it undermine consumer trust and confidence in the ecosystem that we have spent over a decade working to create the best in the world. Contrary to the marketplace developer's false claims, we have categorically not approved this app and would never have made it available on our App Store. The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic to distribute this app, who may not share our concerns about user safety.

To coincide with the launch of the Hot Tub app, AltStore PAL said it will donate all of its Patreon earnings for the month of February "to causes that support sex workers and those in the LGBTQ+ community."

'We felt this was necessary to counter recent harmful policies from politicians, Meta, and many others,' Testut told The Verge. The inclusion of Meta could be a reference to the Hateful Conduct policy changes being implemented in the United States, which will remove protections for LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other minorities on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

AltStore PAL was one of the first alternative iOS app markets to launch in Europe. It launched in April 2024 and has grown to include utilities and apps like game emulators (previously banned by Apple), torrenting software that you won't find on the App Store, and even games like Fortnite from Epic Games.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 06 February 2025