YouTube and X have become “gateways” for hiding apps

Most mainstream social Media platforms have strict guidelines against publishing them Non-consensual intimate images (NCII), or sexually explicit images and videos. But a new report finds that a lot Social media platforms Refer users directly to this content.

Report of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)Extremism And antimisinformation The organization is analyzing the online ecosystem that enables the spread of so-called “nudify” apps and websites, which allow users to digitally undress people without their consent.

the He studiespublished Monday, looked at the top 10 apps and websites used to create explicit, non-consensual fake photos, as well as how people are finding them. It found that a surprising amount of referral traffic came not from small, poorly organized online communities like 4chan but from major social media platforms.

According to the ISD report, social networks drove more than 5.7 million visits to strip sites between December 2025 and March 2026. The main driver of this traffic was YouTube, which was responsible for 1.82 million visits to the site, more than 30 percent of referrals.

These videos, which resulted from searches for keywords like “dressing app” or “strip app,” ranged from reviewing and promoting specific apps to linking to promo codes to provide free credits. X was the second most prominent source of traffic to the sites, accounting for more than 1.3 million visits, according to the study.

The study’s authors wrote that these findings appear to “directly contradict” YouTube’s policies, which prohibit sexually explicit content. “This should logically include websites or tools that generate non-consensual explicit images,” the report said. “However, content violating these policies was easy to detect and access on the platform, effectively turning it into a portal for website exposing.”

“YouTube was just a passive source” of referral traffic, Melanie Smith, ISD’s senior director of research and policy, tells WIRED. “In many of these cases, these tools were also easy to use.”

Interestingly, as Smith points out, YouTube’s policies prohibit not only posting sexually explicit content, but also posting or advertising links to sexually explicit websites (for example, linking to OnlyFans). “In theory, this should include non-consensual images, revenge porn, or leaks of nude photos, but that doesn’t seem to be being comprehensively enforced,” she says.

In response to WIRED’s request for comment, YouTube spokesperson Boot Bullwinkle said the company has “strict policies that prohibit content that includes unwanted sexual exploitation, such as intimate images shared without consent.” He pointed out that these policies apply to content on YouTube itself and to external links, and include “altered or artificial content that realistically simulates nudity.”

The study also looked at the price and accessibility of strippers, with some apps and websites allowing users to create sexually explicit content for as little as $1 a photo. Despite the relatively low cost of using these platforms, they can be very profitable, as a recent WIRED report found that they can be Generating up to $36 million in collective revenues annually.

The study found that common targets of strip apps include current and ex-girlfriends, as well as (annoying) relatives such as sisters and cousins. The authors were also surprised to find that the motives of people using strippers were not necessarily “sexual in nature,” says Smith: “A lot of the requests were about getting people fired from their jobs and endangering their livelihoods and lives in nefarious ways.”

Nudify apps have become a major scourge on many social media platforms. However, sometimes, the platform will not only allow these AI-generated images to spread, but will also help people produce them.