Tumblr confirms app download and Safe Mode issues; here’s a fix

NOTE: For all latest, breaking news related to Tumblr adult content ban as well as its alternatives, head here.

Update (December 09):

We have stumbled upon two more platforms – Explicitr and Suffra – that are also pitching themselves as Tumblr alternatives. More info on them here.

Update (October 08):

Owl pics? Here’s how Tumblr censor bots are being fooled.

Update (December 07):

BREAKING: A secret new Tumblr alternative might be in offering. Yes, screenshots detailing some features of the new platform have been shared by someone who says they received them from an “anonymous source”. For details, head here.

Update (October 06):

Want to move Tumblr blog to another platform? Here’s how to export data.

Update (December 05):

Tumblr users are planning a 24 hour ‘log off’ protest against the company’s recently announced porn ban, but will it help? Read our latest coverage by heading here.

Update (December 05):

An uproar of sorts has broken out on social media over the use of the term “female-presenting nipples” in Tumblr’s official ‘adult content ban’ announcement. We bring you a potential reason behind the use of this term. Details here.

Update (December 04):

Tumblr’s blanket ban on adult content: Here are some of the hilarious memes we found.

Update (December 04):

Embarrassing but true: Tumblr’s algorithms flagged its own announcement as explicit/adult. Details here.

Update (December 04):

An NSFW Tumblr artist’s Change.org petition (seeking to reverse the adult content ban ) has got over 160,000 signs in 15 hours. For details, head here.

Update (December 04):

Tumblr alternatives/replacements: Newgrounds, Pillowfort, and more. For details, head here.

Update (December 04):

Want to know why is Verizon owned Tumblr banning adult content December 17 onward? Read our latest coverage on the matter by heading here.

Update (December 03):

Tumblr allowing NSFW ads despite blocking everything explicit. More info here.

Update (November 22):

Has Tumblr started losing user base? Services like Newgrounds are confirming that they are getting users who migrated fro Tumblr. Details here.

Update (November 21):

Until now, users of Tumblr for Android have been affected by the Safe Mode changes. However, now it has come to light that the censorship update has hit Android as well (Safe Mode turn off is now also not working on Tumblr for Android). Details here.

Update (November 20):

Users are alleging that Tumblr’s fight with Child porn has resulted in deletion of a lot of NSFW blogs and even some SFW blogs as well. Details here.

Update (November 19):

Tumblr has revealed the reason behind these ongoing troubles: it’s child pornography. Here’s the company’s exact statement:

We’re committed to helping build a safe online environment for all users, and we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to media featuring child sexual exploitation and abuse. As this is an industry-wide problem, we work collaboratively with our industry peers and partners like NCMEC to actively monitor content uploaded to the platform. Every image uploaded to Tumblr is scanned against an industry database of known child sexual abuse material, and images that are detected never reach the platform. A routine audit discovered content on our platform that had not yet been included in the industry database. We immediately removed this content. Content safeguards are a challenging aspect of operating scaled platforms. We’re continuously assessing further steps we can take to improve and there is no higher priority for our team

Original story follows:

Tumblr is currently in mid of some major issues. Its iOS app has disappeared from the App Store and for those who have the app installed on their Apple device, searching for NSFW or explicit content isn’t possible as Safe Mode is permanently on.

PiunikaWeb was the first publication to report these problems yesterday. Well, we are back again to let you know that Tumblr has acknowledged “issue with the iOS app.” Here’s what exactly the company announced yesterday:

We’re working to resolve an issue with the iOS app and hope to be fully functional again soon. We really appreciate your patience as we figure this out, and we’ll update this article when we have news to share

Shortly after this, the company offered another update:

Our team is still working to resolve the issue with the iOS app. Thanks for hanging tight while we work on this

While it’s good the company has acted quickly to acknowledge the issue, there’s still no info on when things will get back to normal again. Meanwhile, we have found a potential fix for the ‘app missing from App Store’ problem.

Here are a couple of tweets from Tumblr users explaining how you can get the Tumblr app back on your iOS device:

https://twitter.com/diegoveronicat/status/1063544655898398720

Note that this workaround only works if you had the app before. Those installing Tumblr for the first time on their Apple device are currently out of luck.

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