After it had an unfortunate bout of hardcore porn top its charts, the social video sharing app Vine has upped its age rating to 17+. By bumping up its age bracket, Vine is trying to remain Apple’s good graces – and in the App Store. The great Cupertino moral arbiter has been on a something of a rampage lately, protecting us from ourselves by blocking apps like 500px, probably the classiest photography app around.
Vine version 1.05 also adds the ability to report or block a user, which is a decidedly more useful tool for warding off a phalanx of auto-playing phalluses in your video feed. The age restriction itself is nominal at best. Rather than implementing any actual robust parental controls like those woven into the Kindle Fire ecosystem, Apple is content dotting its i’s and crossing its t’s.
Apple has a long track record of moral policing and arbitrary, occasionally anti-competitive gestures toward the apps that make their way into its (supposedly) carefully curated stable. With its new 17+ rating, Twitter’s Vine app joins the ranks of “Free Sex Positions Decision Maker,” a 2-star App Store gem and a personal favorite for those times you’re feeling indecisive and need to consult your iPhone. Meanwhile YouTube, Flickr and a host of other content-sharing apps remain friendly for those ages 12 and up.
Vine update 1.05 also added the ability to share Vine videos on social networks after shooting them, resolving our main complaint from the time we got a little loopy with Vine on launch day.
