Tumblr's plans to ban all adult content from its site in a huge crackdown has resulted in its users looking elsewhere for alternative platforms to share their explicit material
Tumblr's plans to ban all adult content from its site in a huge crackdown has resulted in its users looking elsewhere for alternative platforms to share their explicit material. The site revealed earlier this month that they would be removing all adult content, including sexually explicit imagery, from December 17. The shock announcement came just days after Tumblr was removed from Apple's iOS App Store over child pornography issues. The ban includes photos, videos or GIFs that show adult content, including real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples. It is also banning any content that depicts sex acts. Tumblr's plans to ban all adult content from its site in a huge crackdown has resulted in its users looking elsewhere for alternative platforms to share their explicit material Tumblr has faced backlash from some of its users over the decision and more than 450,000 people have already signed a Change.org petition urging the site to rescind its adult content ban. The petition says that after years of being a space for NSFW (not safe for work) artists to post, Tumblr has 'decided to close their metaphorical doors to adult content'. 'Let people post porn, it's 90 percent of the reason anybody is on the site in the first place. Or, if you really want a non-18+ tumblr, start a new one with that specific goal in mind. Don't rip down what people have spent years working on,' the petition says. Meanwhile, other users have vowed to find alternative platforms to host their content. Smaller and more alternative sites have already reported seeing an influx in users in the aftermath of Tumblr's decision. Many ex-Tumblr users have been flagging Pillowfort as a possible replacement. Pillowfort, which only launched in early 2017, is still in its beta stage and costs a small fee to join. People can share content and there are public and private settings for users. The site has received an influx of requests to join, including a reported 8,000 just this week, and it has crashed repeatedly due to high traffic. Dreamwidth is another site that has been named as a replacement contender by some users fleeing Tumblr. Tumblr has faced backlash from some of its users over the decision and more than 450,000 people have already signed a Change.org petition urging the site to rescind its adult content ban Many ex-Tumblr users have been flagging Pillowfort (above) as a possible replacement to share their adult content after Tumblr's announcement earlier this month The blogging site, which has been up and running since 2008, is said to have more than 3 million accounts. A post appeared on the site after Tumblr's decision was announced, saying: 'Welcome to Dreamwidth, Tumblr folks!'. 'With the new update to Tumblr's community guidelines announcing that they will no longer permit adult content on their site, we'd like to take a moment to reassure all y'all that we have your backs,' the post read. 'With a very few exceptions (such as spam and the like), if it's legal under US law, it's okay to post here.' Newgrounds also reported an influx of users in the days after Tumblr's news. In a similar welcome message on its site, Newgrounds noted there had been a migration of new artists coming to their platform. 'If you've noticed an influx of new artists on Newgrounds over the past 24 hours, it's because Tumblr began purging accounts of NSFW artists,' the post read. 'Some of these removals may have been an accident on Tumblr's part but regardless, there's been a migration to Newgrounds. 'Some of you might be dismayed at the thought of more lewd content on NG while others are super excited. The good news for everyone is that we're seeing a lot of REALLY TALENTED artists joining up and not everything they post is NSFW.' Newgrounds also reported an influx of users in the days after Tumblr's news. In a welcome message on its site, it noted there had been a migration of new artists coming to their platform Dreamwidth is another site that has been named as a replacement contender by some users fleeing Tumblr. The site, which has been up and running since 2008, is said to have more than 3 million accounts As part of Tumblr's new rules, any explicit posts that are posted to the site from December 17 will be flagged and deleted by algorithms. Tumblr has already started emailing users who have posted adult content, which has been flagged by algorithms, to notify them that their content will soon be hidden from view.