After launching its long-awaited iOS app in March, the cruising platform was taken down this week due to “‘content restrictions…”
After about two months in the Apple App Store, Sniffies has been removed. The cruising platform was taken down due to “ongoing content restrictions” according to a statement from the brand provided to Out. Sniffies calls the setback temporary, noting those already with the app will see no disruption. The web platform also remains unaffected.
The “content restrictions” likely stems from the explicit images users upload as their profile picture. Sniffies spent more than a year trying to figure out the best way to present the app in order to keep its allure and not violate Apple’s content policies, which bans apps that serve adult content.
“We needed to be very strategic about this, to get around Apple’s strict not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content policies, but also keep the magic of Sniffies,” Eli Martin, Sniffies’s chief marketing officer, told Fast Company during the March launch. “The key was giving cruisers control of the experience.”
To appease Apple, the app was automatically set to “Vanilla Mode,” blurring any NSFW content. To remove this mode, users had to deactivate the setting in the app, which took them to the website where they had to sign in and confirm the action. Users must also create an account using Gmail or Yahoo, whereas the web version allows for anonymous browsing.
For six years, Sniffies was a web-only map-based cruising platform. In those years, it evolved into a space that celebrated curiosity, freedom and the power of genuine connection. The app has many features including a public forum to post statuses informing others of what they’re looking for, the ability to create group meet-ups and information on cruising locations.
With its popularity rising, Grindr has recently decided to up its offering with its “Right Now” tab. Released earlier this month in Canada, “Right Now” is similar to the public forum on Sniffies in which users can post what they’re looking for at that moment.
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