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AppStore Kicks Out Dating App For Unvaccinated Users, Citing Violation of COVID-19 Content Policies

© REUTERS / MIKE SEGARThe Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019.
The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.08.2021
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The app, released in May as a self-described social platform for "like-minded unvaccinated people that support medical autonomy and free speech,” gain around 18,000 downloads before Bloomberg News contacted Apple to allege that the app was violating the tech giant's terms of use.
Apple has removed the 'Unjected' dating app, said to be for unvaccinated people, from the AppStore, saying the platform was providing misleading information about coronavirus vaccines, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
The creators of the app slammed the move as censorship in a now deleted Instagram post, which contained a screenshot of an email from Apple noting that the dating app was not in compliance with AppStore guidelines related to “Safety – Objectionable” content.
As Apple noted in the email, the app "inappropriately refers to the COVID-19 pandemic in its concept or theme."
"Apparently, we're considered 'too much' for sharing our medical autonomy and freedom of choice," Shelby Thomson, the app's founder, said in a post. "So, of course, Apple removed us."
According to a Bloomberg report, an Apple spokesperson explained that the company earlier refused to place the app in its store, but then approved the app after developers introduced certain updates. Later, according to Apple, the app asked its users to avoid some anti-vaxx key words, such as "jabbed" and "microchip" to avoid detection by Apple reviewers.
"This is a violation of our guidelines, which make it clear: 'If you attempt to cheat the system…your apps will be removed from the store,'" the Apple spokesperson noted.
The tech spokesperson stressed that the app could develop its own site, as Apple and other IT companies won’t be able to turn it off.
According to Bloomberg, the dating app purporting to be for those who do not believe in vaccines was launched in May as an alternative for major dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble that have began to motivate their users to get the coronavirus vaccine, by providing perks. The creators of the Unjected app presented their social platform as one for "like-minded unvaccinated people that support medical autonomy and free speech.”
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