Apple and Google continue to host nudify apps despite their own rules

Apple and Google continue to keep applications in their mobile stores that allow creating sexualized images of people without their consent. This is a particularly sensitive issue for the App Store and Google Play, because both companies already have rules that formally prohibit such content.

What researchers found

The trigger for this new wave of criticism was a report by Tech Transparency Project. According to its data, so-called nudify applications are still available in Apple and Google's ecosystems — services that use generative AI to transform ordinary photos of people into sexualized images without the person's consent. The main contradiction here is that this is not a gray area without rules.

Both Apple and Google publicly restrict applications with sexually exploitative, harmful, or misleading content. If such tools really remain in search results and are available for download, this indicates a gap between the platforms' stated policies and how they actually work in practice. For companies that position their stores as a safe environment, this damages both user trust and the reputation of the review system itself.

Why this is dangerous

Such applications lower the barrier to entry for digital violence to just a few taps on the screen. If previously forging an image required editing skills and time, now it's enough to upload a photo from social media or a messenger, select a style, and get the result in minutes. For the victim, this is not a "joke" or a controversial entertainment format, but a violation of personal boundaries and control over their own image. The consequences of such tools are very real:

• harassment and humiliation in chats, schools, and work teams
• extortion and pressure in personal relationships
• reputational damage that is difficult to quickly remedy
• increased distrust of photos as proof of reality
• additional burden on platform moderation and victim complaints

The problem is also one of scale. When such products pass the review of major app stores, they gain not only an audience but also the appearance of legal legitimacy. For some users, the mere presence in the App Store or Google Play looks like a sign that the service is "within the rules," even if its usage scenarios are obviously toxic.

Why the rules didn't work

Based on the substance of the report, the issue is no longer the absence of rules, but their enforcement. Moderation of app stores traditionally relies on product descriptions, keywords, screenshots, user complaints, and subsequent update reviews. Developers of controversial services know how to play this system: they soften wording, mask real usage scenarios as "entertainment" or "photo effects," and make the riskiest features visible only after installation.

There is also a more systemic problem. Generative tools change faster than rules and manual review processes. Platforms must evaluate not only the technology itself but also the likely harm from its application.

In the case of nudify applications, this harm is quite obvious: the user scenario is initially built around creating a sexualized image of a person without consent. This is exactly why Apple and Google will face questions not only about their policy on paper, but also about how quickly they remove such products once they are discovered.

What this means

The nudify application story shows that the main risk of generative AI today often lies not in the laboratory, but at the distribution stage. If Apple and Google want their rules to be taken seriously, they will need to more precisely define prohibited scenarios, respond more quickly to complaints, and conduct stricter checks on applications that monetize unauthorized sexualization of people.