Apple is purging some adult-themed content from the Apple App Store, purportedly at the urging of both customers and developers.

“Whenever we receive customer complaints about objectionable content we review them,” an Apple spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement to “Information Week” (http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/data/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223000381). “If we find these apps contain inappropriate material we remove them and request the developer make any necessary changes in order to be distributed by Apple.

Letters that Apple has sent to creators of adult-themed apps state that customer complaints prompted the company to change its policy and to ban “overtly sexual content” from the Apple App Store. The “ChilliFresh iPhone apps” site (http://chillifresh.com/2010/02/20/5000-apps-banned-the-new-rules/) says that over 5,000 apps have been banned.