Apple and Google ordered to purge “nudify” apps from app stores

The city of San Francisco has ordered Apple and Google to remove dozens of “nude” apps — software that can digitally alter photos to reveal the people in them — from their app stores.

California law It criminalizes any activity That “knowingly facilitates” or “recklessly aids or abets” the creation of deepfake pornography without consent. And in 2025, California too He issued a law Allows victims to bring civil lawsuits against third-party facilitators of this material. The city says that despite these well-known regulations, the two technology companies have continued to host such programs and make money from them.

“Apple and Google profit from apps that exploit women and girls by producing fake, non-consensual intimate images,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in an email statement to TechCrunch. “While companies have cut ties with some problematic apps, Apple and Google have a responsibility to be proactive and vigilant to prevent sexual assault.”

Letters sent by Chiu’s office to Google and Apple, seen by TechCrunch, indicate that the companies “were aware” of their role in “processing payments for illegal purchases for approximately a year,” but nonetheless continued to do so.

According to the messages, both companies were repeatedly warned that they were hosting these apps. In January and again in April, the Tech Transparency Project issued reports and sent letters to both companies noting that there were “dozens of apps” within their app stores “that sold NCII (non-consensual intimate images) in exchange for payments” processed by the companies.

TTP a report From April, he said Google and Apple had “intentionally steered” users toward such apps, and described the companies as “key participants in the proliferation of AI tools that can turn real people into sexual images.”

In addition, Qiu said wiredly The two companies potentially earn “million-dollar fees” from apps that offer such services.

Letters from Chiu’s office warn that Apple and Google could face civil penalties for violating the law and ask them to contact the city within 28 days.

When reached by TechCrunch for comment, an Apple spokesperson said nudify apps were blocked from appearing in its App Store, also noting: “We have removed three of the apps in question and are in the process of terminating their developer accounts from our platform. We are in contact with four others who need to address policy violations or risk removal as well.”

A Google spokesperson claimed that all five Play apps referenced in Chiu’s message have been suspended from Google Play. “When violations are reported to us, we investigate and take swift action, which in the case of these apps has included suspending hundreds of offending apps and restricting relevant search terms such as ‘nudify’ in our store,” the spokesperson added.

Deepfake pornography has It was quite a problem For female celebrities, although stripping apps allow anyone with a publicly available photo to be targeted.

Update July 17: This article has been updated to include data from Google and Apple.