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Restricted Content Policy

This page describes content restrictions for apps that are published to the Amazon Appstore. The examples in each section describe specific app scenarios that violate the Amazon Appstore Content Policies and will be rejected by the Appstore. These lists are not exhaustive, and the examples may change over time as new scenarios arise.

Family-friendly Content

Always keep in mind that the Amazon Appstore is a family-friendly environment. If your app contains content that would not be considered "family-friendly" and does not have adequate safeguards in place for our young customers, your app will be rejected or suppressed from the Amazon Appstore.

Examples of Family-friendly Content Violations:

  • An app that contains vulgarity, profanity, explicit material, or inappropriate content aimed at children or within child-directed content.

Sexually Explicit Content

Your app, and marketing materials for your app, must not contain sexually explicit or pornographic material, content that is intended to be sexually gratifying, or content that appears to promote sexual acts in exchange for compensation. Your app also may not drive traffic to such content. Content that contains nudity may be allowed if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic, and is not gratuitous.

Examples of Sexually Explicit Content Violations:

  • An app that gratuitously depicts human beings or animated characters involved in sexually suggestive acts.
  • An app that provides information on local escorts.
  • An app that promotes sex-related entertainment, escort services, or other services that may be interpreted as providing sexual acts in exchange for money, gifts, or financial support (for example, “sugar dating” apps).

Regionally Restricted Content

We may refuse to distribute an app in any country or region where that app's content would violate that country’s or region's laws, cultural norms, or sensitivities.

User-Generated Content

If your app includes or links to user-generated content, your app must have adequate user safeguards. This means that your app's terms of use must define allowed content in a way that complies with Appstore policies, and users must agree to those terms before they can create or upload content to your app. Your app must also provide user-friendly mechanisms for reporting abusive users or objectionable content, and must conduct content moderation as is reasonable and consistent with the type of user-generated content hosted in the app. Your app must take action against users or content that violate your app’s terms of use, and include other appropriate safeguards as required by law in your jurisdiction.

Examples of User-Generated Content Violations:

  • An app that allows users to post content and contains no reporting mechanism.

Hateful or Harassing Content

Your app must not promote hateful content, harassment, bullying, or threats. This includes content targeting groups or individuals based on their race, religion, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender. Your app must not promote symbols of hate including signs, flags, or insignias associated with hate groups.

Examples of Hateful or Harassing Content Violations:

  • An app that promotes derogatory language directed towards a specific religion.
  • An app that encourages others to stereotype particular ethnic groups.

Medical Content

Your app must not include content that provides inaccurate or misleading medical advice or makes unsubstantiated medical claims.

Examples of Medical Content Violations:

  • An app that claims certain pills can cure all diseases.
  • An app that purports to be able to predict the gender of a fetus via app functionality.

Alcohol and Tobacco (including E-Cigarettes)

Your app must not promote the sale or consumption of tobacco, cannabis, or related products. Your app also must not promote the excessive or underage use of alcohol. Apps that sell alcohol or tobacco products must use an age verification process for such sales.

Examples of Alcohol and Tobacco Violations:

  • An app that promotes the excessive consumption of alcohol through a drinking competition.
  • An app that promotes underage use of tobacco with child-appealing imagery.

Real-Money Gambling, Gaming and Competitions

We allow real-money gambling, gaming and competition apps in the countries indicated below. Given that these apps are heavily regulated, they must meet the following requirements:

  • Apps must be free to download and install.
  • Apps must be rated as ‘Adult’.
  • Apps must NOT use Amazon In-App Purchasing (IAP) to fund an in-app wallet of real money. IAP may be integrated and used only for non-cash consumables and entitlements.
  • Developer must have, and comply with, all necessary licensing and permissions for the countries, regions and territories in which the app is offered and used.
  • Developer must ensure that the app detects and validates the geo-location of end users to prevent transactions in locations where the underlying gambling, gaming, or competition is prohibited.
  • Developer must prevent under-age end users from using the app.
  • Developer must provide any supporting information that we require during submission.

Only the below categories of apps will be accepted into our Appstore:

  • Sports Betting
  • Daily Fantasy Sports
  • Casino
  • Competitions

Violation of any of the requirements listed in this Real-Money Gambling, Gaming and Competitions section will result in the app being rejected.

Please note that given the validations required due to the sensitivity of these apps, processing times will be longer than regular apps.

Currently, we only offer these apps in the countries and locations listed below:

United States

  • Sports Betting
  • Daily Fantasy Sports
  • Casino
  • Competitions

United Kingdom

  • Casino
  • Sports Betting (including Daily Fantasy Sports where legal)
  • Competitions

Germany

  • Sports Betting

Bitcoins and other Crypto-currencies

Your app may not facilitate the transaction of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoins.

Sensitive Events

Your app must not demonstrate insensitivity towards a sensitive event such as a tragic event or disaster (historic or current). Your app also must not capitalize on such sensitive events. Apps with content related to sensitive events may be allowed if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic.

Examples of Apps Lacking Reasonable Sensitivity:

  • An app that denies the occurrence of a major tragic event.
  • An app that profits from a natural disaster by putting disaster relief information behind a paywall.
  • An app that promotes false or misleading claims about a humanitarian crisis.

Illegal and Harmful Content

Your app must not promote illegal, reckless, dangerous, or harmful content.

Examples of Illegal and Harmful Content Violations:

  • An app that advocates that users buy illegal drugs, including unauthorized prescription drugs, or provides locations where such drugs can be purchased.
  • An app that encourages self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders.
  • An app that promotes child exploitation, human trafficking, forced marriages, bestiality, or prostitution.
  • An app that instructs users on how to build or assemble a bomb, silencer, meth lab, or firearm, or enables the purchase of firearms, explosives, or ammunition.
  • An app that directly offers pirated content, promotes links to websites that stream pirated content, or promotes downloading via torrents.
  • An app that recruits users to join a gang.

Violence

Your app must not include content that facilitates, glorifies, or encourages violence, or depicts gratuitous, offensive, or extreme violence or gore.

Examples of Excessive Violence:

  • An app that contains a video feed of real live humans or animals being killed.

Terrorism and Violent Extremism

Your app must not include content that facilitates, promotes or glorifies terrorism or violent extremism, including advising users on how to join or recruit members for a terrorist organization.

Examples of Terrorism and Violent Extremism Violations:

  • An app that provides the latest news, videos and updates from a terrorist organization.

Last updated: Jul 10, 2024