A side effect of Apple's move to have apps rated by age level meant that apps with racier content—essentially soft-core porn—could be approved for sale if was rated 17+. Educator and developer Fraser Speirs has discovered, however, that access is only restricted for purchasing, not browsing in the App Store, which is a real problem in school environments. The glitch has become a huge headache for Speirs' school, which plans to roll out iPod touches to every one of its 100 students next fall.
The problem that Speirs identified is that even though Parental Controls will limit app purchases for restricted apps, it does nothing to restrict browsing restricted apps via iTunes. Just accessing the "Lifestyle" category, for instance, will list dozens of "Amateur Swimsuit" apps, as well as "A Hidden Cam Thong." iTunes will happily display the product page and screenshots for apps such as "Movie of Sexy Japanese Girl," "Amateur Sohot Queens," or "Epic Boobs," replete with graphic text descriptions and NSFW—or school—screenshots.
The problem also affects the App Store app on the iPhone as well, though it does go one step further than iTunes in keeping the content protected. It will still display a restricted app's description and icon, but it won't show any screenshots.
