Apple has removed Unjected app from its App Store. The app describes itself as “a safe space” where unvaccinated people could meet “uncensored” for “business, friendship or love.” The tech giant said that the was taken off as it had violated Apple’s COVID-19 policies. The app had also tried to get around the review process of the App store which was against the tech giant’s policies.

Bloomberg News had contacted Apple about the app’s spread of misinformation and the App Store removed the app. The tech giant sent an email to Unjected saying that the app had inappropriately referred to the COVID-19 pandemic in its concept or theme.

When Unjected had initially applied to the App Store, it had been rejected. The app made changes to get in line with Apple’s policies. However, it made statements externally to its users and also added updates that brought “it out of compliance,” according to an Apple spokesperson.

The spokesperson also said Unjected asked users not to use certain words in order to avoid detection and that was a clear violation of their guidelines which stated that apps would be removed from the store if they attempted to cheat the system.

When contacted by Gizmodo, Unject sent an email that stated that they were a “respectful group of people” who believed in medical autonomy and freedom of choice. They also said that Google and Apple’s censorship policies were not just and violated their constitutional rights.

Unject was developed after Tinder, perhaps the most popular dating app in the nation, joined the White House’s team to encourage its users to get vaccinated. It gave vaccination badges to users who said they were vaccinated and also boosted the visibilities of their profiles.

Morgan Reed, president of ACT, an organization for app makers said that both Apple and Google had   to monitor apps more robustly. He also said that it was a difficult task as millions of applications reach both the tech giants and it was like the game “whack-a-mole”, and they needed to continue to step up with their monitoring activities.

Image Marco Verch