"Bang with Friends" returns to App Store, re-branded as "Down"

In May, Apple removed an app called "Bang with Friends" from the App Store. As a quick refresher, "Bang with Friends" enabled users to select which of their Facebook friends they'd like to "hook up" with. If two users selected each other, they'd each receive an alert.

While the reason for the application's removal was never fully explained, it's plausible that Apple took umbrage with the app's extremely sexual overtones. From the title of the app to the default login screen, the app may have very well crossed the line in the eyes of Apple's review team.

At the time, "Bang With Friends" co-founder and CEO Colin Hodge indicated that his team was working closely with Apple to get the app reinstated. Now, a little more than three months later, the app has indeed returned, albeit with an entirely new name and a somewhat tamer interface.

Re-branded as "Down," the app is available as a free download. While the core functionality remains unchanged, the app is a bit more subtle about its purpose. Now, users can categorize their Facebook friends in one of two ways: they can indicate whether or not a friend is someone they'd like to hang with or someone they are "down" with.

TechCrunch reports:

Gone are all traces of the word "Bang"; gone is the app's uber suggestive launch screen imagery. The app is now called "Down", its namesake "Down To Bang" button now reading just "I'm Down".

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The name change also works out alright in a few other ways. After the influx of users from their early controversies, the company had seemingly been trying to steer the app into less of a straight up hookup app into something a bit more broad, like a general dating/friend finding service - hence the introduction of the "Down To Hang" button.

If you're "down" to check out the app, you can download it on iTunes. Due to the app's mature nature, users must be at least 17 years old.