Apple and Google caught promoting nudify apps that violate their own app store policies
13 Sources
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Apple and Google Broke Their Own Rules by Promoting 'Nudify' Apps, Report Says
If you want an app you built to be downloadable from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, it has to pass a slew of criteria, including safety standards. But a new report on Wednesday alleges that Apple and Google broke their own rules by promoting "nudify" apps that are outlawed in their app
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Apple, Google Offer 'Nudify' Apps Despite Policies Against Them
Apple Inc. and Google have continued to offer mobile apps that let users make nonconsensual sexualized images of people despite their policies prohibiting such content, according to a report published Wednesday by the Tech Transparency Project. Searching for terms like "nudify" and "undress" in
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Apple and Google are reportedly pointing users to nudify apps
Earlier this year it was revealed that Apple and Google were offering "nudify" apps on their stores despite having clear policies barring such content. Nearly three months later, such apps are not only still available, but being actively promoted on the iOS App Store and Google Play, according to a
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Apple and Google reportedly point users to 'nudify' apps despite banning them
Some of these apps are said to be rated "E," meaning even kids can download them. Apple and Google are supposed to be cracking down on harmful apps. However, a new report suggests they are still helping users find one of the most controversial types called "nudify" apps. A new report from the
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AI "nudify" apps are being offered to everyone on the Google Play Store
I've been covering Android and other mobile technology for close to ten years now, with a specific interest in phone accessories, e-readers, and what makes each individual phone different from another. I delight in looking at the phone market from as many angles as possible, and while my opinions
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App Store search suggestions reportedly steered users to 'nudify' apps - 9to5Mac
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has followed up on its January report that revealed dozens of "nudify" apps on the App Store with a new investigation focused on how Apple's own search and ad systems may be helping users find them. Here are the details. According to the new report, both the App
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AI nudify apps are still on the App Store, report warns
Apple removed 15 apps after the findings but some remain available, highlighting ongoing enforcement challenges for both Apple and Google stores. A study released by the Tech Transparency Project shows that it is not difficult to find software on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store that
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Apple and Google Direct Users to AI 'Nudify' Apps: Report
Apple and Google are helping users find apps that create deepfake nude images, according to a new investigation. So-called "nudify" apps use AI to alter photographs of real people, making them appear naked, placing them in pornographic videos, or turning them into sexually explicit chatbots.
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Damning report finds Apple and Google's app stores boosting nudify apps
The app stores aren't just hosting nudify apps -- they're promoting them If you assumed Apple and Google were just slow to catch harmful apps on their platforms, a new investigation suggests the problem is far worse than that. The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that both the App Store and
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Apple, Google Accused of Steering Users to Nudify Apps
Apple and Google are directing users to apps that can create non-consensual nude and sexually explicit images, despite having policies that prohibit such content, according to a new investigation by Tech Transparency Project (TTP). The report found that the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
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Apple and Google Face Backlash Over 'Nudify' App Search Results
Amazon Launches "Sassy" Alexa Mode: Adults-Only Assistant With Humor and Attitude In addition to finding ads for those apps in both stores, TTP noted the platforms' autocomplete functions, which anticipate and suggest queries before users finish typing. It can also guide users to additional apps.
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Apple and Google reportedly hosting deepfake nudity apps, despite breach of policy
A new investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has found that Apple and Google are not just failing to remove AI-powered "nudify" apps from their platforms, their own search and advertising systems are actively pushing them up. Type "nudify," "undress," or "deepnude" into either app
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App Store, Google Play Store accused of promoting nudify apps through search suggestions: All details
Apple has removed some apps, but watchdog calls for stricter and more consistent enforcement A new investigation by the Tech Transparency Project has raised new concerns about the presence of so-called nudify apps in the Apple and Google app stores. According to the report, both Apple's App Store
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Apple and Google are actively directing users to nudify apps that create nonconsensual deepfake images, despite explicit policies banning such content. A Tech Transparency Project report reveals these apps have generated $122 million in revenue and been downloaded 483 million times. Many were rated 'E for Everyone,' making them accessible to children.
Apple and Google Promote Banned Nudify Apps Despite Explicit Policies
Apple and Google are not just hosting nudify apps that violate their own policies—they're actively promoting them. A Tech Transparency Project report published Wednesday reveals that both tech giants have been directing users to apps designed to create nonconsensual deepfake images, with some appearing in automated search suggestions and ad carousels
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. The Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a research arm of the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability, identified 18 nudify apps in the App Store and 20 in the Google Play Store3
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Source: Digit
These undress apps use generative AI tools to alter images of people—predominantly women—to make them appear nude or partially clothed, creating what constitutes nonconsensual imagery. When users search for terms like "nudify," "undress," and "deepnude," both platforms surface these apps and even suggest additional ones through autocomplete features
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. Google went further by creating carousels of ads for some of the most sexually explicit apps encountered during the investigation1
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Source: Digit
Platform Responsibility and Revenue Conflicts
Both Apple and Google maintain app store policies that explicitly prohibit this content. Apple's guidelines ban "overtly sexual or pornographic material," while Google Play specifically prohibits "apps that claim to undress people or see through clothing, even if labeled as prank or entertainment apps"
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. Yet these policies appear to conflict with financial incentives. Analytics firm AppMagic found that the identified apps generated more than $122 million in lifetime app revenue and were downloaded 483 million times1
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Source: Analytics Insight
Apple and Google profit from app developers through advertising and subscription revenue shares, which may explain their inconsistent enforcement. "It's not just that the companies are failing to actually appropriately review these apps and continue to approve them and profit from them," Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, told Bloomberg. "They are actually directing users to the apps themselves"
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.Child Safety Concerns with Apps Rated E for Everyone
A particularly alarming finding involves content moderation failures affecting child safety. Many of these apps were rated "E" for Everyone, meaning children could legally download and access tools capable of creating sexualized images
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. The TTP report identified 31 apps rated E for Everyone that had not been adequately vetted5
.One example, Video Face Swap AI: DeepFace, advertised face-swapping capabilities but contained a "Girls" category where users could paste faces onto video templates of partially undressed women. Despite this content, the app maintained an "E" rating and accumulated over 1 million downloads from the Google Play Store
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.Related Stories
Enforcement Remains Inconsistent Despite Removals
After Bloomberg reached out about the Tech Transparency Project report, Apple removed 15 apps and contacted developers of six others to alert them to policy violations
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. Google confirmed it suspended seven apps and stated that investigations are ongoing1
. Apple also said it blocked several search terms flagged in the report1
.However, this marks the second time in months that TTP has exposed these apps. In January, the organization first revealed that Apple and Google app stores hosted over 100 nudify apps
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. While some were removed then, the April investigation found that dozens of similar apps had reappeared4
. This pattern suggests that enforcement efforts are "uneven and largely opaque," according to Anne Helmond, a professor at Utrecht University and director of the App Studies Initiative2
.Growing AI Deepfake Crisis and Regulatory Response
The nudify app problem reflects broader challenges with deepfake technology and nonconsensual content. Earlier this year, Grok users created 1.4 million sexualized AI deepfake images over just nine days
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. Apple privately contacted Grok to express concerns about abusive AI capabilities and threatened removal, yet the app remains available in both stores and reportedly still capable of generating explicit content1
.Governments are beginning to respond. The UK's Children's Commissioner has called for bans on AI deepfake apps that create nude or sexual images of children
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. The UK government has initiated attempts to ban these apps entirely, particularly given damage already occurring in schools5
. California's Attorney General recently sent Elon Musk's X a cease and desist order over Grok's explicit deepfakes3
.As generative AI becomes more sophisticated and accessible, the tension between user safety and platform profitability will likely intensify. The question remains whether Apple and Google will implement systemic changes to their app rating and review processes, or continue reactive removals that allow harmful apps to resurface within months.
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