Photo sharing app 500px has been withdrawn by Apple from the App Store for making it too easy to search for nude photos, according to reports.

The Canadian app maker told TechCrunch that 500px for iOS and recently-acquired ISO500 — with more than one million combined downloads — have been pulled from the store.

An Apple statement seen by TechCrunch said that the app was removed “for featuring pornographic images and material, a clear violation of our guidelines”.

Apple added that it had received customer complaints about possible child pornography and asked the developer to “put safeguards in place” to prevent such images on the app.

500px COO Evgeny Tchebotarev said the company had discussions with Apple regarding an updated version of 500px for iOS just before the apps were pulled.

However, an Apple App Store reviewer said the update couldn’t be approved as it allowed users to search for nude images.

Tchebotarev said the ability for users to search for such images is difficult as the app defaults to a safe search mode, where these are hidden from searches.

In order to change this, users must visit the 500px website.

In addition, 500px doesn’t allow images deemed as pornographic to be published — unlike some other services. The nude pictures are restricted to artistic images from professional photographers and enthusiasts.

The company told Apple it would change the apps to address the issue and ensure that any third parties using its APIs, such as Flipboard and Google Currents, would follow suit. It appears Apple refused to wait for the change.

The 500px community currently identifies any inappropriate images but the company is developing technology that will recognise these kinds of images and ensure they don’t appear in searches.

Google has not pulled the Android version of the app from its Google Play store.