New updates are being added at the bottom of this story….
Original story (published in December 2018) follows:
There were already strong indications that Tumblr would do it, and the company has now made it official.
Adult content is being banned by Tumblr. Yes, that’s a big decision for the company especially considering that a major chunk of the platform’s user base exists because of pornography.
Tumblr has updated its support pages, announcement feed, as well as community guidelines to officially announce this change, which goes into effect from December 17 onward.
We have collected important information from these sources so that you don’t have to read them over and over again. So, without further ado, here are the relevant excerpts:
Why Tumblr did this?
According to the official announcement, the step was taken after the company concluded that without this kind of content, they have an opportunity to create a place where more people feel comfortable expressing themselves.
However, it’s possible that Apple’s removal of the Tumblr app from its App Store played a big part in this decision. Although that happened largely because of the discovery of child pornography on Tumblr, Apple has been known for its anti-porn stance, and Tumblr’s desire to regain its lost user base by coming back to App Store may have made the company to surrender to Apple’s demands.
Is this whole process affecting innocent blogs?
It definitely seems so. Take a look at some of these tweets:
For its part, Tumblr says this can happen.
So all you need to do is to appeal if your post or blog gets marked as adult/explicit. You can find details on how to do that (as well all info related to Tumblr’s recent announcement here, here, and here).
Update 1 (December 04, 2018)
10:00 am (IST): Tumblr alternatives/replacements: Newgrounds, Pillowfort, and more. For details, head here.
11:00 am (IST): Embarrassing but true: Tumblr’s algorithms flagged its own announcement as explicit/adult. Details here.
01:30 pm (IST): Tumblr’s blanket ban on adult content: Here are some of the hilarious memes we found.
02:50 pm (IST): An NSFW Tumblr artist’s Change.org petition (seeking to reverse the adult content ban ) has got over 160,000 signs in 15 hours. For details, head here.
Update 2 (December 05, 2018)
02:14 pm (IST): An uproar of sorts has broken out on social media over the use of the term “female-presenting nipples” in Tumblr’s official ‘adult content ban’ announcement. We bring you a potential reason behind the use of this term. Details here.
03:00 pm (IST): Tumblr users are planning a 24 hour ‘log off’ protest against the company’s recently announced porn ban, but will it help? Read our latest coverage by heading here.
Update 3 (December 06, 2018)
04:00 pm (IST): Want to move Tumblr blog to another platform? Here’s how to export data.
Update 4 (December 07, 2018)
10:00 am (IST): A secret new Tumblr alternative might be in offering. Yes, screenshots detailing some features of the new platform have been shared by someone who says they received them from an “anonymous source”. For details, head here.
Update 5 (December 08, 2018)
10:30 am (IST): Owl pics? Here’s how Tumblr censor bots are being fooled.
Update 6 (December 09, 2018)
11:00 am (IST): We have stumbled upon two more platforms – Explicitr and Suffra – that are also pitching themselves as Tumblr alternatives. More info on them here.
Update 7 (November 02, 2022)
05:30 pm (IST): Tumblr has released a new update that changes rules to allow nudity, however, sexually explicit images are not allowed.
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NOTE: For all latest, breaking news related to Tumblr adult content ban as well as its alternatives, head here.
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