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500px removed from Apple App Store over child pornography claims, still going strong on Android

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Looks like 500px is in hot water tonight after Apple forcefully removed the popular photo sharing application from their iOS App Store. The reason? Apparently the app was flagged enough times from users claiming it was harboring adult (and child) pornography, that Apple had to take action. If you’ve never heard of 500px, think of it as Instagram for grownups. Grownups, and pervy old men, apparently.

According to 500px COO Evgeny Tchebotarev, there was an update being pushed out that would have addressed the pr0n showing up in galleries by disabling nudes by default. Users would then have to log into the web-based site to remove the safe guard filter. When it comes to the child pornography allegations, Tchebotarev tells The Verge they’ve never — not even once — in the history of the company, ever received a single complaint and that if one should ever arise, they’d take action by reporting uploaders to the local authorities.

For those of you with Android devices, 500px employee Alex Flint let everyone on Twitter know that the Android version is still up and running without a hitch — “tasteful” nudes and all. You can grab the app via the link below.

[500px on Google Play | via TechCrunch]

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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26 Comments

  1. I can’t believe Apple did that, at least the Android version is still up. It looks a high quality app.

    1. Keeping the fun-hating legacy of Steve Jobs alive!

  2. I heard “pervy old men” & came as quick as I could. Giggity Giggity ;)

    1. Hehehe alriiiight :D

  3. Was it at least good porn?

    1. Is there such a thing as bad porn ? *hides granny porn DVD’s under bed*

      1. Yes, yes there is.

  4. Android downloads just shot through the roof.

  5. I saw a boob! Police! Police! Save the children!

  6. lol ohoh they are going to ban Batman: the Dark knight Rises soon for too much violence or GTA for well.. everything. In a ecosystem run by Apple nobody is safe >.>

    1. If they show Batman’s nipples, then yes. Apple will.

      1. lmfao. you are funny dude. kudos

      2. lol

  7. Good, this pos app needs to be banned. This is the one of the few things I appreciate about apple, their stance against porn and inappropriate apps.

  8. I have been using this app for a long time especially since I got the note 2. the picture quality is fantastic and love the surprise pictures.

  9. The power of this thing called a ‘raid’ is quite the forces to be reckoned with.

    Probably some forum with enough supporters, or some you tube ‘*star’, put out a message to flag it down. I’ve flagged down videos on YouTube as ‘promoting violent acts or abuse’ when they were really bad music. I mean, hell, it made me want to punch the guy who posted it up, so that’s cause enough, right?

    (*synonym for talentless loser)

  10. Are they kidding? 500px is one the VERY few serious photography networks. If you go in there, you pretty much only see images from some of the most renowned and talented photographers in the world. This is art, no daily images with silly filters. Yes, there are nudes, but it’s NOT porn (and I have never seen images of any children or young people nude). This is a joke. A really bad move from Apple.

    1. I saw some lesbian “porn” on there once. It was ..”art”.. but it was close enough to porn. One chick giving the full moon while the other was playing with her woo haa. Both naked of course.

      Made me second guess recommending the app to my kids. Child porn? That’s a serious claim and artsy or not, shouldn’t be in the app.

      1. Of course, some of the photography may be a bit crazy. I agree you should take precautions with people under 18, which is why the company will push that update to fix the issue (should have been done since the beginning). I frequent this network, though, with the app and my computer. I have never seen something that I personally consider offensive.

        Of course child pornography is a delicate topic. But honestly, I haven’t seen any porn-like images of kids or teenagers. I will agree we see the occasional partial nudes in there, but is that really offensive? I walk into a lot of living rooms and see pictures of people’s kids showing part of their butt. Is that child pornography?

        Example: http://500px.com/photo/18169603

        My point is, I think people are not realizing what this app is about when they see some of these images and flag the app. I hate the idea of kids being abused, and I would fully support this ban if I knew 500px was willfully allowing something of this caliber. In any case, if such an image were to be uploaded without 500px noticing for a while (they get a BUNCH of uploads), it should be reported to 500px so they can take action, not flagged in the App Store.

        1. Really, if Apple bans 500px for occasional nudes uploaders post, they should block Safari, Chrome, or even Instagram.

  11. good news iPhone fans! this just means that Apple is developing an identical service and wants to rid the App Store of redundancy before they launch! Apple’s version will be far better, because it comes packed up in an OS update! congrats to all those who have been waiting for features like the ones you’ve just lost – your wait is almost over! :)

  12. 500px is a respected site. Àpple is retarded

  13. You should also mention if anyone runs across these sic pos posting kids to report it. Evil will always try to spoil a good thing.

    1. This is why we can’t have nice things.

  14. I can’t think of a single photography site for pro/pro-am that doesn’t have nudity. Tell me you can’t find nudity on pbase.com in less than 10 minutes.

  15. This is exactly why we don’t want Apple controlling the mobile marketing. They suck they suck

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