Apple bans LGBTQ pride watch face in Russia

(Image credit: Max Whittaker/Getty Images)

published 31 August 2018

Apple watch owners can set their watch face to a rainbow gradient in celebration of LGBT pride — unless they take their watch to Russia.

Apple unveiled the pride watch face and matching watch band in June, in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month. But the company apparently hardcoded its system to hide the pride face from users located in Russia, developer Guilherme Rambo discovered:

Russia upholds strict anti-LGBT laws, whereas Apple is known as a publicly inclusive company. But in order to continue operations in Russia, Apple must comply with the country's laws, Fast Company notes. If a user selects Russia as their location, the pride watch face "simply disappears," The Verge reports. The matching pride watch band is also not sold in Russia.

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Apple originally distributed pride watch bands to employees in 2016 in celebration of San Francisco's pride parade, which openly gay Apple CEO Tim Cook participated in, reports Mashable.

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Marianne is The Weekâ€™s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.