The European Union now has a dedicated porn app on the iPhone, in case that’s what you’re craving. Hot Tub, a search engine for finding porn, is the first native porn app that can be legally installed on iOS devices, TechCrunch reports, thanks to the recent enactment of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which requires Apple to support third-party app stores.
Hot Tub, which is available on the AltStore PAL alternative app store, allows users to search and browse content on a number of popular porn sites, including PornHub, XVideos, XNXX, and XHamster. The app is called “Porn Without Pop-ups” because it prevents the many questionable ads you get when you visit these sites in your browser. It also saves you from having to open the Incognito tab to search – although let’s be real, if you download a dedicated porn app, you’re not too worried about privacy.
Alternative app stores have been allowed on devices in the European Union since last year, but Hot Tub is still the first porn app to hit the market. This is partly because Apple continues to support a notarization process designed to ensure that apps meet “basic platform integrity standards.” The app, created by iPhone developer and jailbreaker c1d3r, successfully passed the Notarization process and was approved for use on iOS.
Third-party app stores are still a very new phenomenon for the average user (although people involved in the jailbreak community have been downloading apps for years), and it still comes with a lot of obstacles and risks. But there is some evidence that people are interested in breaking out of Apple’s restrictive approach to apps. A survey conducted by MacPaw (which has its own alternative app store, so keep that in mind) found that 80% of users expressed interest in trying third-party app stores.
Also, surprisingly, many people watch porn on their phones. Reportedly, 69% of porn viewing occurs on smartphones, and approximately 20% of all searches from mobile devices are related to porn. So clearly, there is a market for Hot Tub’s services.
AltStore is using the successful launch of the porn app to donate its profits to sex workers and LGBTQ organizations, announcing that monthly profits from Patreon will be donated to organizations such as The Trevor Project and the Red Umbrella Fund, a decision the company says was made in part to combat recent policies aimed at banning porn altogether and removing protections for marginalized communities on social media.
