This week, Apple announced that companies could advertise their apps on store pages for other apps, putting their icon in the “you might like it” section. Almost immediately, developers began showing examples of recommended gambling app ads in their apps.

Twitter is also full of screenshots of very inappropriate ad placements. A Twitter user shows a slot machine app being advertised alongside gambling addiction recovery apps, and there are examples of other betting apps being advertised on child-facing app pages, adult video chat apps appearing on the Apple Books page and dating apps being put on applications designed to improve existing relationships. 

As MacRumors reporter Joe Rossignol points out, Apple did not clarify how long the pause would last, or whether it will make any policy changes based on how the initial launch fell. It’s also unclear which other categories of ads have been paused.

Apple’s rules for advertising on the App Store list apps related to gambling, alcohol, dating, and the pharmaceutical and medical industry as “restricted,” meaning there are special rules about where they can be displayed.

The limitations are primarily on laws rather than what is tasteful or potentially harmful; the site says that gambling apps are “banned or limited in some countries and regions“, but says nothing about the audience to which they can be served.

How Apple proceeds can be very important for the future of the iPhone. Reports have indicated that it is planning to expand ads outside the App Store for apps such as Maps, Podcasts, and Books.

Source: The Verge / Mobbip