Apple Bans forChan Developer – Did Not Realize Web Browsers Can Access Porn

Remember Charles Rodriguez? He’s the dude we wrote about last week … the 26-year-old President of iHustleApps and the developer of the infamous forChan app. forChan is a web browser specifically designed for imageboards such as Futaba Channel, 4chan, 420chan, The Wired and others. With its start-up page set to an imageboard displaying dogs, it took Apple less than 12 hours to approve and publish forChan.

forChan1  forChan-Dog

And just as quick … Apple banned forChan after four days of existence. Why? = Porn. Just like any web browser, the end user is able to access pornography through forChan. It’s important to note that forChan is not a porn app … there is no code or Easter Egg within the app that enables porn. Rather forChan can be used to view porn (or other images like dogs  or whatever) … it’s up to the end user to enter the desired imageboard URL. Hmmm … does this sound familiar? Gizmodo thinks so … calling for the ban of Safari and Bing on the iPhone, since they are web browsers just like forChan.

forChan-Uncensored-FINAL

Well things go from bad to worse. Yesterday … nine days after forChan was banned … Apple revoked Charles’ developer license and removed all of his 224 remaining apps from the App Store. Charles has been completely banned from developing iPhone apps.

forChan-Banned We contacted Charles to inquire exactly what was Apple’s reasoning for completely booting him out of the iPhone Developer Program (iDP) … Charles said, “Via email, Apple indicated that I violated Section 6.1 of the iDP Agreement by hiding the nature of the forChan app from when it was originally submitted for review. I set forChan’s launch page to an imageboard containing dogs. Apple stated that it was only later they discovered that forChan can be used by end users to access pornographic content, which is not permitted under the iDP Agreement.” “Per the iDP agreement,” Charles continued, “Apple has the right to terminate my license for dishonest and fraudulent acts, including trying to hide application functionality from Apple’s review.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa … slow down sparky! Did you say Apple did not realize that a web browser can access porn? “It’s confusing to me as well, but that’s what Apple stated in the Notice Of Termination email they sent me,” Charles said. “I attempted to call Apple for further clarification,” Charles continues, “but they stated that all correspondence regarding this matter can only be in email format.”

It should be obvious that forChan could access porn … even its description states, “forChan is a web browser app … any content including UNCENSORED pics can be accessed.” Now Charles did jump on the porn imageboard bandwagon and created his own adult site … however this information was not publicized within the app or its description (unlike the SuicideGirls application where its URL is displayed in the description and the app).

forChan-Complete-Title

So maybe Gizmodo is right … ban Safari and Bing. And while you’re at it, revoke Apple’s and Microsoft’s developers license. Or how about the hundreds or third-party web browsers … we all know why they include Private Web Browsing as a feature. Hell, there’s even an iPrOn Private Browser app … pron (or pr0n) is porn, deliberately misspelled.

ipron-title

And why do imageboard browsers still remain in the App Store? The iImageboard app is identical to forChan … enter a URL and you are connected to its content, porn included. Anonyma is another one … and even easier access to porn by simply entering one letter as the URL … type in S and a “Sexy Women” pornography imageboard is revealed.

Anonyma-Title

Anonyma-1  Anonyma-2

A final question remains … will Apple forward Charles’ portion of revenues from his apps sold in December and the first 20 days of January? “I certainly hope so as I rely on iPhone development to support my mother and kid sister. Our rent is literally due in ten days,” said Charles. Hmmm, I don’t know bro … we’re thinking you might get that famous six-word Jobs response … “Not That Big Of A Deal”.

January 21, 2010 | Filed Under News, Utilities | 8 Comments 

New iPhone App Can Be Programmed To Display Porn

It’s a well known fact that Apple does not tolerate porn in the App Store … “Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography,” said Apple spokesman Tom Neumayer in an official company statement last June. If porn somehow does manage to find a way into an app (we’ve detailed 5 cases of in-app pornography), Apple lowers its mighty ban hammer and the offending application is quickly removed.

But gosh darnit … this is porn. And when there’s a will, there’s a way … just ask Charles Rodriguez, president of iPhone app publishing company, iHustleApps. For months Charles racked his brain, trying to figure out the way to his will … nude female images within an Apple-approved native app, while avoiding the ban hammer. And what Charles came up with is an App Store first … the forChan app.

forChan-Title

On the surface, forChan seems unique, interesting and innovative … a web browser wrapped into a photo viewing application. Connect to any imageboard site and forChan presents the content in convenient thumbnail and full-size views. You can emails photos, view as a slideshow, save to your iPhone, shake to refresh images and more. The app’s default URL is set to an imageboard displaying dozens of cuddly canines.

forChan-1  forChan-2

But don’t judge an app by its cover. In a few simple steps …

Step 1: Download forChan
Step 2: Via your iPhone, visit iHustleApps.com/iPhone and press the “forChan” button
Step 3: Select one of the 15 “adults only” categories
Step 4: Copy the displayed URL to your clipboard
Step 5: Paste the URL in the Store URL section of forChan

step-1  step-2

step-3  step-4

… those adorable doggies become a bevy of uncensored XXX bliss, with all its flick and pinch glory. YOWZA!

forChan-Uncensored-FINAL  forChan-iPhone-Porn-Final

“It’s important to note that forChan does not contain an Easter egg. There is no code within the actual app which enables the adults only feature. We simply programmed it with dual functionality,” said Charles. “All content is delivered by our company’s servers.” Charles continued, “Using forChan in this capacity is no different than visiting an adults only site with a web browser app purchased from iTunes.”

Hmmm … ok, fair enough – a web browser. Like we said … when there’s a will, there’s a way. And since ultimately it’s the user enabling the adult content in forChan, perhaps iHustleApps will indeed avoid Apple’s ban hammer.

January 11, 2010 | Filed Under Entertainment, News, Photography | 12 Comments