Nudify apps available on Apple Store allow users to create rape videos
Apple and Google are facing growing scrutiny after investigations found that dozens of AI powered “nudify” applications remained available through their official app stores despite policies intended to prohibit sexually explicit, degrading or nonconsensual content. These applications can manipulate photographs of real people to make them appear partially or fully nude, creating significant risks of nonconsensual intimate imagery and sexual deepfakes.
An investigation by the Tech Transparency Project found that searches for terms such as “nudify,” “undress” and “deepfake” continued to surface applications capable of generating sexualized images. Researchers identified 46 apps through Apple’s App Store and 49 through Google Play during a follow up investigation. Testing indicated that roughly 40% could produce nude or scantily clad representations of women.
The issue goes beyond simply allowing these applications onto the platforms. Researchers found that Apple and Google’s search systems could actively help users discover them. Paid advertisements appeared in app store searches, while autocomplete suggestions sometimes directed users toward additional search terms that produced more nudify applications. This raises questions about whether the platforms are merely failing to moderate the apps or are indirectly facilitating their discovery and distribution.
The scale of the ecosystem is substantial. The applications identified in the April investigation had accumulated approximately 483 million downloads and generated more than $122 million in lifetime revenue. Because Apple and Google receive revenue from advertising, subscriptions and in app purchases, critics argue that the companies financially benefit from applications associated with technology capable of producing nonconsensual sexual imagery.
This followed an earlier TTP investigation in January 2026 that identified 55 such applications on Google Play and 47 on Apple’s App Store. Those apps had collectively accumulated more than 705 million downloads and generated an estimated $117 million. Although both companies subsequently removed or suspended some applications, researchers found that similar services continued to appear or remain accessible.
The findings are particularly significant because both companies already have policies addressing this type of content. Google Play explicitly prohibits applications that degrade or objectify people, including software claiming to digitally undress individuals or see through clothing. Apple prohibits overtly sexual or pornographic material. Researchers therefore argue that the continuing availability of these applications demonstrates weaknesses in enforcement rather than an absence of relevant rules.
A further problem is that many applications do not openly advertise themselves as nudification tools. Some present themselves as ordinary AI image generators, face swapping applications, avatar creators or photo editing tools while still allowing users to generate sexualized material. This dual use nature makes automated moderation and app review significantly more difficult. Subsequent research found that many apparently general purpose face swapping applications could also be used to create nude face swaps.
Regulatory pressure has consequently increased. In July 2026, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu ordered Apple and Google to remove a group of applications capable of creating sexual deepfakes, arguing that the platforms could be facilitating the production of nonconsensual intimate imagery. The city warned that the companies could potentially face legal consequences if they failed to address the problem.
The wider issue is therefore not limited to individual malicious applications. It concerns the responsibility of major app marketplaces to prevent AI tools capable of producing nonconsensual sexual imagery from reaching mass audiences. The investigations suggest that stronger screening, continuous monitoring and enforcement are necessary because removing individual apps does not prevent similar services from reappearing under different branding or functionality.
