Tumblr Will Once Again Allow Nudity, But Not Porn

Tumblr is allowing users to post nudes again, but its ban against porn remains in effect. 

Tumblr is bringing back nudity in an effort to “welcome a broader range of expression, creativity, and art” on the platform, the site says(Opens in a new window), which could help bring in more users.

Tumblr plans on moderating the nudes through a recently announced Community Labels function. This allows users and Tumblr itself to tag posted content with a label indicating that it contains mature or sexual themes. The blogging site can then filter in, or filter out the content, depending on your community label settings(Opens in a new window).

“So, even if your creations contain nudity, mature subject matter, or sexual themes, you can now share them on Tumblr using the appropriate Community Label so that everyone remains in control of the types of content they see on their dash,” the site says.

Tumblr Community Labels settings
(Credit: Tumblr)

Tumblr, which is owned by WordPress developer Automattic, has since updated(Opens in a new window) its community guidelines to remove a ban on showing “real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples.” 

Previously(Opens in a new window), the rules only made an exception for nudity that was related to “artistic, educational, newsworthy, or political content.” The updated guidelines now say: “Nudity and other kinds of adult material are generally welcome.” The ban on sexual explicit imagery remains in effect.

“Visual depictions of sexually explicit acts (or content with an overt focus on genitalia) are not allowed on Tumblr,” the guidelines say. “That includes pictures, videos, GIFs, drawings, CGI, or anything similar.” The only exception is for historical art, such as artifacts in museum that depict sex acts. 

Why continue the porn ban? Tumblr points to Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg’s recent post that claims the tech industry has become anti-porn. In his post, Mullenweg cited how both Visa and Mastercard stopped accepting payments on Pornhub after the adult video site was found hosting child sexual abuse videos. 

Tumblr’s own decision to ban porn in 2018 also occurred after Apple pulled the iOS version of the Tumblr app after the blogging site was spotted circulating child sexual abuse content. As a result, Automattic fears the tech ecosystem will eventually crack down on Tumblr if it permits porn on the site again.

“The casually porn-friendly era of the early internet is currently impossible,” Mullenweg added. Still, Tumblr’s decision to allow nudity —including nudes containing sexual themes— may test the boundaries around the site’s current porn ban.