App stores still surfacing deepfakes
Multiple outlets found Apple’s and Google’s stores still hosting and even promoting AI 'nudify' apps despite content policies, and some reports say the stores ran ads that helped users discover those apps. ( ).
Apple’s and Google’s app stores are still surfacing apps that turn photos into fake nude images, even after both companies wrote rules against that material. (bloomberg.com) The Tech Transparency Project said on January 27, 2026 that it found 102 “nudify” apps across the two stores: 55 on Google Play and 47 on Apple’s App Store. The group’s report is now being cited again after fresh April 16 stories said store search and promotion systems were still helping users find them. (techtransparencyproject.org ) (macsurfer.com) These apps use image-generation tools to make sexualized fakes from ordinary photos, a form of non-consensual deepfake imagery. Google’s Play policy says violative AI content includes “non-consensual deepfake sexual material,” and its AI rules also bar apps primarily intended to be sexually gratifying. (support.google.com) Apple’s App Review Guidelines say the App Store is a “curated” marketplace where every app is reviewed, and Apple says its platforms are “the safest for consumers.” Those claims have come under pressure because the apps were available through the main store, not sideloaded from the web. (developer.apple.com) Bloomberg reported on April 15 that the apps had generated more than $122 million in revenue. Earlier summaries of the January Tech Transparency Project findings, citing AppMagic data, put the total at about 705 million downloads and roughly $117 million in lifetime revenue. (bloomberg.com) (findarticles.com) The new wrinkle in the April reporting is distribution, not just moderation. Google News listings on April 17 showed coverage of a new report that Apple and Google were “steering users” to these apps, echoing accounts from 404 Media and other outlets that store discovery tools were still pointing people toward them. (news.google.com) (macsurfer.com) Apple tightened some App Store safety language in February 2026, expanding the kinds of user-generated-content apps it says can be removed without notice. That update showed Apple was revising its rules even as questions about sexualized AI content were already building. (9to5mac.com) Both companies have removed some apps after outside scrutiny, but enforcement has been uneven in public reporting. The Tech Transparency Project page lists its January 27 report as one of its top stories, and Bloomberg said Apple and Google continued to offer these apps months later despite their stated bans. (techtransparencyproject.org) (bloomberg.com) The immediate question is no longer whether the rules exist. It is whether Apple and Google can stop their own stores from listing, recommending, and profiting from apps their policies already forbid. (developer.apple.com) (support.google.com)
