Tumblr allowing NSFW/adult ads despite blocking everything explicit

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.

Original story follows:

Tumblr users were in for a rude shock last month when it came to light that its iOS app has been removed from the Apple App Store. Possibly around the same time, the ability to search NSFW or explicit content was also taken away. Tumblr later revealed that pornographic material featuring children somehow went past its filters, and detection of this kind of content resulted in Apple booting the Tumblr app from its application store.

It’s been well over half a month since all this happened, and nothing seems to have changed – the app is still missing from the App Store and NSFW searches are still not possible (Safe Mode setting is on permanently). While Tumblr hasn’t revealed what exactly it has been doing all this while, users have taken to social media platforms to complain that the company is after all kinds of NSFW blogs, deleting not only them, but even some SFW blogs in the process.

So you see, Tumblr’s effort to clean its platform of child pornography (which, btw, has existed on Tumblr for years now) is affecting everything NSFW. Well, almost everything. ‘Almost’ because there’s at least one aspect that’s apparently unaffected: ads. Yes, adult or NSFW ads are still being served, and unsurprisingly, users aren’t happy about it.

Take a look: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.

More reports:

https://twitter.com/thelyricalady/status/1069740945002754049
https://twitter.com/OcevnEyez29/status/1069388207920427009
https://twitter.com/Alatus_K/status/1069267986773696512
https://twitter.com/lediva/status/1068259105771417600

On one hand, Tumblr isn’t letting users access anything NSFW and on the other hand, it’s serving adult/explicit ads. That’s ironic, to put it mildly. We’re continuously monitoring the Tumblr situation, and will let you know as and when there’s any news-worthy development on the matter.

Follow @PiunikaWeb

PiunikaWeb is a unique initiative that mainly focuses on investigative journalism. This means we do a lot of hard work to come up with news stories that are either ‘exclusive,’ ‘breaking,’ or ‘curated’ in nature. Perhaps that’s the reason our work has been picked by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and more. Do take a tour of our website to get a feel of our work. And if you like what we do, stay connected with us on Twitter (@PiunikaWeb) and other social media channels to receive timely updates on stories we publish.