Baby Shaking. There's an App For That - Well, Not Anymore [UPDATED]
Posted 04/23/2009 at 2:29pm
| by Roberto Baldwin
What appears a recipe for a PR disaster, Apple approved the sale of the iPhone app, "Baby Shaker" and for a short time before pulling it yesterday.
The app does exactly what the name says. You shake a baby until it stops crying. When that happens, red Xs appear on the baby's eyes. The international cartoon sign that something is dead or filled with booze. The app's description read, "See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!"
Classy.
Considering the sheer amount of apps that must be approved by Apple, it's no wonder a less than desirable app slips through the cracks. Apple recently blocked a Tweetie update because the app could be used to read swear words.
Hopefully Apple is working to reduce the amount of baby killing apps that get through the system in the future.
UPDATE: Apple contacted CNET about the Baby Shaker app and issued the following statement.
"This application was deeply offensive and should not have been
approved for distribution on the App Store. When we learned of this
mistake, the app was removed immediately. We sincerely apologize for
this mistake and thank our customers for bringing this to our
attention."
Via CNET