Apple secretly threatened to remove Grok from the App Store over deepfakes on X

Apple secretly threatened in January 2026 to remove the AI application Grok from the App Store due to the X platform failing to address a wave of unwanted sexual deepfakes. NBC News reported this, citing a private letter Apple sent to US senators. According to the letter, Apple contacted the teams at X and Grok after receiving user complaints and seeing news coverage of the scandal.

The company demanded that developers "develop a plan to improve content moderation." The threat was clearly formulated: without concrete measures, Grok risked being removed from the app store. The deepfake scandal erupted on X in late 2025 to early 2026: users massively posted AI-generated images depicting real people undressed without their consent.

The wave of content proved so massive that it prompted public criticism directed at both X and Grok, as well as Apple and Google — for failing to take visible action against applications distributing such material. Notably, Apple acted quietly: the threat was issued behind closed doors while public pressure on the company mounted. Critics pointed out that Apple, possessing immense leverage as the owner of the App Store, was slow to respond publicly.

Ultimately, Grok was never removed — at least as of the time of publication. This story exposes a long-standing contradiction: the App Store is positioned as an environment with strict security rules, yet Apple often applies real enforcement measures behind the scenes and inconsistently. When a platform with a multi-million user base and the backing of one of the world's most influential entrepreneurs is at stake, even the largest technology gatekeeper prefers to act cautiously.

The incident raises the question of how platforms and app stores should respond to systemic violations by major players — and whether they are willing to pay the political price for genuinely tough decisions.