Apple iOS fans who use Discord may be shocked to find out that recent App Store rule changes will remove access to adult content on Discord, while Android fans will see no changes in this regard.

Apple iPhone owners will soon discover that their Discord is far safer for work as servers that inappropriate in nature or have heavy adult themes will be inaccessible due to Apple guidelines. Discord confirmed the changes in a recent announcement but hasn't specified why iOS users are receiving this major change.

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Discord has required a label on adult content for some time, with the ability to create individual channels on an overall safe Discord server. Users can contact Discord if they were inadvertently identified as minors during age verification, but this apparently won't matter on iOS as all users will be barred from this kind of content regardless of age. Adult Discord users who have mistakenly been identified as a minor can write to Discord Trust & Safety in order to have their age information updated. Apple's guidelines would allow for adult content generated by users on web-based services if "the content is hidden by default and only displayed when the user turns it on via your website," which is a change that Discord isn't keen on making.

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There are over 140 million monthly Discord users and 300 million registered accounts and soon the iOS users among them will have reduced access on the platform. Server owners and moderators of communities that are adult-focused are permitted to view and manage these servers on iOS, but other Apple users will have to access the content on the desktop and web versions of Discord. Apple has made similar moves with apps such as Tumblr due to questionable adult content which sparked big changes on the social media platform in order to meet Apple's requirements.

While no users between the ages of 13 and 17 will be able to join or view adult content, some may circumvent the age restrictions or create a separate account specifically to access adult content communities. Considering Discord already has an age verification system, it will be interesting to see what Apple's take on the same platform will be now that iOS users are unable to see adult content.

"Apple's regressive stance on sexual content being available on its largest platform is verging on a full-on moral panic, and it's really gross," said former Tumblr Product Manager Matthew Bischoff on Twitter. "Entire businesses and communities have been crushed by it, and it often hurts queer and trans communities most. When we dealt with this at Tumblr, it became my full-time job for weeks to find incredibly complex ways to appease Apple's censors. This happened every time they found a sexy blog they didn't like."

Apple iOS fans may be concerned about these changes coming to Discord, but Apple is simply following its guidelines that are set in place and it will help prevent minors from seeing adult content that they shouldn't be seeing. While Apple hasn't outright banned adult content on iOS as a whole, it's limiting the content communities can share in order to keep platforms such as Discord gaming-focused.

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Source: Ars Technica