Reddit app banned from Play Store for being NSFW

As you know, Reddit is a social news website where users submit content in the form of links or text “self” posts. Other Redditors then vote the content up or down, which determines the position of the post on the site’s front page.

In the Play Store, there are several unofficial applications that use the Reddit API, including Reddit is Fun, Andreddit, BaconReader, and a tablet-specific app called Reddita. However, it now seems that at least one of these apps has entered the crosshairs of Google’s policy enforcement team. A few days ago, the Reddit is Fun Android app (in its two versions, Lite and Pro), was banned from the Play Store, allegedly for breaking Google’s policies on sexually-explicit material.

As anyone who visited the site can tell, Reddit has always promoted an environment of free speech. It has very few rules about what content can be posted on the site, only forbidding private information. This has led to the creation of several subreddits that some perceive as extremely offensive.

Google Ratings guidelines states that pornography is not permitted in Google Play. Apps that include suggestive or sexual references must be rated “Medium maturity” or “High maturity.” Apps that focus on suggestive or sexual references must be rated “High maturity.” It might have been a series of unfortunate events leading to the ban of Reddit is Fun, especially considering that no other similar Reddit apps were banned so far. The wrong rating or NSFW links available from the app without proper moderation are most likely the cause of this misunderstanding.

The most likely solution would be to cut access to NSFW subreddits by default. The creator of the app is awaiting an official reply from Google as to the reasons this app was pulled from the Play Store. Hopefully, this will be cleared up soon and mobile redditors  can continue to enjoy this app. You can follow any updates on this situation at http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/r3dhg/reddit_is_fun_banned_for_sexually_explicit/ (which is, ironically, a Reddit link)