According to 9to5Mac, AltStore developers Riley Testut and Shane Gill have announced a new app called CSAM Store Checker. The tool is designed to let users check if a specific app marketplace, like the official App Store, distributes apps where child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is accessible. This comes after recent controversies where apps like X and Grok allegedly enabled CSAM generation. The developers state these apps violate Apple’s guidelines but haven’t been removed. Furthermore, starting today and continuing through the entire month of February, Testut and Gill will donate 100% of their Patreon earnings to Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT). They announced this in a Patreon post detailing the new app.
A Protest In App Form
Look, this isn’t just some utility. It’s a pointed, public shaming tool. The subtext here is massive. AltStore, which exists specifically because of Apple‘s restrictive walled garden, is now using an app to highlight Apple’s own failure to police that garden. They’re basically saying, “You have all these rules, you enforce them arbitrarily against us, but you’re not enforcing them on the big guys for one of the most serious violations possible.” It’s a incredibly clever form of protest. And by tying it to donations to PACT, they’re making it ethically unambiguous. You can’t really argue with the cause.
The Broader Implications
So where does this go? I think this is a new front in the ongoing war over app store governance. It’s not just about fees or unfair competition anymore. It’s about holding the platform owners accountable for their own content moderation claims. If Apple touts the safety of the App Store, but a third-party can point to glaring, harmful exceptions, that’s a powerful narrative. This could embolden regulators and lawmakers who are already skeptical of Big Tech’s self-policing. Will we see more watchdogs building tools like this? Probably. It turns abstract policy failures into something tangible you can download and run.
A Risky Move
Here’s the thing, though. This is a nuclear option. By naming specific apps and, by extension, implicating Apple for hosting them, Testut and Gill are painting a huge target on their backs. Apple isn’t known for taking criticism lightly, especially from developers in its ecosystem. Could this lead to retaliatory action against AltStore itself? It’s a real possibility. But maybe that’s the point. They’re forcing a confrontation on an issue where Apple has zero moral high ground. It’s a high-stakes gamble that the public and media pressure will be more powerful than Apple’s annoyance. Whether you see this as activism or provocation, it’s definitely not boring. And it sure makes the usual tech news cycle look pretty tame.
