Jared and Kirsten Maughan partnered with Page Foundry, Inc. to create the Clean Reader app; it instantly blocks profanity from being displayed on eBooks.
The Washington Post reports that the profane language under target includes the F-word, the S-word, the names of different divine beings, and racially-charged insults. According to the developers’ website, users can download it for free on both iOS and Android devices. Some people have raised concerns about censorship while others argue that Clean Reader does not hinder freedom of speech.
Here’s more from The Huffington Post: “To be clear, however, Clean Reader isn’t censorship; anyone who’s read a book of Shakespeare’s stories for children or an abridged classic for younger readers has experienced a similar curation. Parents who value learning and yet want to protect their children from adult material have long found other ways to introduce their young ones to classic and challenging texts. If an adult reader wishes to similarly expurgate their reads, many of us may not agree — it seems tantamount to preferring the awkwardly scrubbed daytime version of Sex & the City — but it’s a personal choice, not a governmental one.” (via Bustle)