Updated, 4:29pm ET: Apple provided more information to 9to5Mac. Details are below the original post.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu sent a cease-and-desist letter to Apple and Google, demanding that they remove several “deactivated” apps from their app stores. Here are the details:
App Store still struggles to weed out “naked” apps
According to reports wiredApple and Google are once again under fire over the availability of “undressing” or “undressing” apps on the App Store and Play Store.
From the report:
The 13 apps investigated by the City Attorney’s Office (eight in the App Store and five in the Play Store) advertise themselves as “face-swapping” tools with the ability to create sexual deepfakes once users use them. The website for one app, which has been downloaded more than a million times, displays more than a dozen AI images it generates, including “curvaceous bikini queens,” “gentle big breasts,” and “cinematic intimacy.” Many of the styles display images of sexualized women with descriptions. The homepage of another targeted app claims to produce “free and uncensored” videos.
Chiu’s letter reportedly states that both Apple and Google “profit from harmful technology,” but the city attorney said in a statement to Wired that the companies “likely earned millions of dollars in fees from apps that offer nudity.”
From the report:
“These companies have a responsibility to ensure that the apps on their platforms do not facilitate sexual abuse,” Chiu said. California law prohibits support for services that create deepfake pornography, according to the city’s legal letter. According to the letter, these apps use in-app payments, of which the technology companies receive a cut. “The fact that some of the world’s largest and most established technology companies are facilitating this has to stop.”
Wired noted that they did not include the app’s name in the report to avoid directing more users to the app. A Google spokesperson also insisted that the company takes action against apps reported for violating its policies, but added that Apple did not comment before publication.
Today’s news comes nearly six months after an April investigation in which the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released a report revealing dozens of “nudify” apps on the App Store, and later found that Apple’s own search suggestions and ads were directing users to them.
At the time, the company told 9to5Mac that “naked” apps violate its app review guidelines and that it actively rejects and removes such apps, including those reported through user reporting tools such as https://reportaproblem.apple.com.
To read Wired’s full report, click this link.
Updated at 4:29pm ET: Apple said in a statement to 9to5Mac:
“The App Store is designed to be a safe and trusted place for our users, and apps designed to generate, distribute, or consume pornography are always strictly prohibited. ‘Nude’ apps violate our app review guidelines, and we actively reject many of these apps and remove many others, including when users report them through our reporting tools.” We have removed three of the offending apps and are in the process of terminating developer accounts from our programs. We are in contact with four other companies that need to address policy violations or policy violations. has also been removed. ”
The company also said its app review guidelines prohibit “nudity” apps, pornography, and overtly sexual content, and that the rules apply to all developers. Apple added that developers are responsible for and must have a way to filter objectionable content created by users if their app is at risk of being removed from the App Store.
Apple also said it actively rejects nudity apps and that users can report our deceptive apps that are offensive, illegal, abusive, or fraudulent through https://reportaproblem.apple.com.
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