Apple and Google ordered to remove 'nude apps' from their app stores.
San Francisco, California, has ordered Apple and Google to remove so-called 'nude apps' from their app stores that can undress people in photos.
Apple and Google ordered to purge 'nudify' apps from App Stores | TechCrunch
California law prohibits 'intentionally promoting' or 'recklessly assisting or instigating' the creation of non-consensual deepfake pornography (pornography created using AI based on real people). Additionally, AB 621 , a law that will allow victims to file civil lawsuits against third parties who promote such content, is scheduled to be passed in 2025.
San Francisco authorities have pointed out that despite these regulations, Apple and Google continue to host and monetize nude apps. Prosecutor David Chiu, who has spearheaded numerous groundbreaking lawsuits and regulatory actions concerning government agencies, public health, and consumer protection in San Francisco, told technology media outlet TechCrunch, 'Apple and Google are profiting from apps that exploit women and girls by generating intimate deepfakes without their consent. Apple and Google have terminated their partnerships with some of the problematic apps, but both companies have a responsibility to be proactive and vigilant in preventing sexual abuse.'
A letter sent to Apple and Google by Prosecutor Chiu's office reportedly states that the two companies had been 'involved in processing payments for illegal purchases for nearly a year' and had continued the practice despite 'receiving warnings.' Apple and Google had apparently received repeated warnings from San Francisco authorities about hosting nude apps. Prosecutor Chiu has warned that Apple and Google could face civil penalties for violating the law.
Furthermore, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a non-profit investigative journalism and monitoring group in the United States that investigates and monitors the power, influence, and social impact of major IT companies such as Google, Meta, Apple, and Amazon, sent reports and letters in January and April 2026 alleging that dozens of nude-making apps exist in the app stores operated by Apple and Google, and that these apps are selling 'deepfake NCII (non-consensual intimacy images)' in exchange for payments processed by both companies.
In April 2026, the TTP pointed out that 'Google and Apple are intentionally leading users to nude-making apps, and that both companies are 'major participants in the proliferation of AI tools that can transform real people into sexually explicit images'.'
TTP - Apple and Google Are Steering Users to Nudify Apps
https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/apple-and-google-are-steering-users-to-nudify-apps
Prosecutor Chiu told WIRED that 'Apple and Google likely earned millions of dollars in fees from the nude photo editing app.'
When TechCrunch reached out for comment, an Apple spokesperson explained that nude apps are prohibited from being listed on the Apple Store, stating, 'We have removed three of the apps in question and are in the process of removing the developer accounts from the program. We are also contacting four other apps that need to address policy violations, and they may be removed in the same way if they do not take action.'
A Google spokesperson claimed that all five apps mentioned in Prosecutor Chiu's letter have been removed from Google Play. They further explained, 'When a violation is reported, Google investigates and takes swift action. In the case of these apps, we have suspended hundreds of other apps that violated the rules and restricted related search terms such as 'nudify' on the app store.'
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in Software, Smartphone, Posted by logu_ii