Apple fails to get it up for Hot Tub — the first porn app for EU iPhone users
A slightly shorter newsletter today, as I wasn't expecting to write this up — but after receiving a statement from an Apple spokesperson earlier tonight, I felt compelled to.
Riley Testut, a developer I've gotten to know from TechRadar/iMore days thanks to Delta, the free Nintendo emulator for iPhone and iPad, and then AltStore, one of the first third-party app stores for EU users, announced Hot Tub earlier today.
The app allows users to watch videos from sites like PornHub and others, without using a web browser on an iPhone. If you live in the EU and have AltStore installed, you can download and use Hot Tub right now.
Hot on the release of the app, Apple sent me this statement:
“We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore porn apps of this type create for EU users, especially kids. This app and others like it will undermine consumer trust and confidence in our ecosystem that we have worked for more than a decade to make the best in the world. Contrary to the false statements made by the marketplace developer, we certainly do not approve of this app and would never offer it in our App Store. The truth is that we are required by the European Commission to allow it to be distributed by marketplace operators like AltStore and Epic who may not share our concerns for user safety.”
First off — I get it. Apple doesn't want apps like these to be available in any way, shape, or form on its devices — it's not a good look, nor does it want to be seen as a place for pornography or anything else.
And yet, it paradoxically feels that in 2025, Apple is behind the times on this.
Let me ask you a question:
When you first discovered the internet, whether that was at school or at a friend's house, what was one of the first things you put into the search bar of Ask Jeeves or Yahoo?
If it wasn't 'boobies' or something similar, you're either fibbing or reading this in a public place. It's something that you simply couldn't search for at your local library, nor when you were browsing non-cable TV — it was to quench that curiosity.
But it's a completely normal and healthy thing to do — it's also something we should talk more of in this day and age, especially when sites like OnlyFans can celebrate sex and provide a healthy living to others.
According to a source familiar with Apple’s stance, the company strongly disputes AltStore’s claim that it approved the Hot Tub app, calling it a lie. Apple maintains that EU regulations prevent it from blocking such content on alternative marketplaces and points to its existing App Store guidelines, which prohibit what AltStore has alleged. And yet:
Whether Apple is fixating on the word 'approving' as a reflection of its values rather than 'approving it for its App Store', the contradiction remains. The European Union has forced Apple to allow alternative marketplaces on its devices, and Testut is well within his right to make Hot Tub available on AltStore.
Testut has said in the past how he's spoken to Apple and, although it's been an arduous process in getting AltStore approved for countries that have forced Apple to allow third-party app stores, it's been worth it.
In another series of posts on Threads, Testut mentioned that Patreon payments from February will be directly donated to sex-positive organizations.
I'm all for this, and full credit to Testut, his business partner Shane Gill, and anyone else involved in getting Hot Tub live, and yes, approved.
Ultimately, Apple isn't happy, but I can't help but feel it's from its own doing. You can go to sites like PornHub on your Safari web browser right now with no restrictions, yet you can't download an app that can display similar videos. It feels odd, out of touch, and against what many people in the real world actually do with their devices.
Nevertheless, if you're able to download AltStore and you want an easier way to watch certain videos, Hot Tub is clearly the best way to do it on your iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Thanks for reading.
