Apple is well known for maintaining strict policies against pornographic and highly adult content on the iOS App Store. As such, it’s a bit surprising to hear that Playboy Magazine has finally arrived on iOS. All is not what it seems, however – to get around Apple’s content policy, the iOS version of Playboy is a bit different than what you’ll pick up from a news stand – it lacks explicit nudity.
Playboy’s new iPhone app keeps it classy.
Pictorials of playmates and other models can be found on the app, which has emerged from months of testing, but there’s no nudity.
Apple’s content guidelines prohibit pornographic material, but that doesn’t prevent the subscription-based Playboy app from being provocative, says Josh Schollmeyer, Playboy’s Director of Digital Content. “It forces us to use our imagination to be a little bit more creative,” he says. “I tell all my photographers every picture has to be one of three things. It has to be romantic, whimsical or sexy.”
Aside from its explicit photo galleries, Playboy is actually also fairly well-known for its writing. The old joke about people putchasing Playboy “for the articles” isn’t quite as bizarre as it seems – at least, not according to Playboy Digital Content Director Josh Schollmeyer (again, via USA Today).
“It forces us to use our imagination to be a little bit more creative,” he says. “I tell all my photographers every picture has to be one of three things. It has to be romantic, whimsical or sexy.”
Each month, new exclusive content about The Good Life (travel, food, drink, cars, gear, style) will augment long-form interviews and articles. This month’s entries include 20 questions with Girls creator/actress Lena Dunham and an interview with music industry mogul Clive Davis, an opinion piece and a short story. “We still want to give a taste of what appears in the magazine,” he says. “We try to make it very medium-friendly. If you go in and look at the Clive Davis interview, we have purposefully made it as easy on the eyes as possible to read 5,000 words on this small of a device.”
According to Schollmeyer, the new iOS formay of the magazine is a pilot, and if it is successful, it will likely become the norm across the iPad, as well as versions of the magazine for Android and other platforms. It helps the magazine appeal to younger audiences, as well. For those that want the full, uncensored version, Playboy magazine also remains available in its original form in Magazine apps such as Zinio.
Subscriptions are available within the app, and back issues can be purchased for $1.99 per issue. Playboy for iPhone is available now as a free download from the App Store.
- Playboy for iPhone (free, App Store link).
