Apple and Google ordered to purge ‘nudify’ apps from App Stores

The metropolis of San Francisco has ordered Apple and Google to region dozens of “nudify” apps — — bundle programs that tin digitally change pictures to unclothe the radical successful them — from their app stores.

California instrumentality criminalizes immoderate activity that “knowingly facilitates” oregon “recklessly immunodeficiency oregon abets” the instauration of non-consensual deepfake pornography. In 2025, California besides passed a law that allows victims to prosecute civilian actions against third-party facilitators of specified material. The metropolis says that, contempt these well-known regulations, some tech companies person continued to big and marque wealth from specified programs.

“Apple and Google are profiting disconnected apps that exploit women and girls by generating nonconsensual intimate deepfakes,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said successful an emailed connection to TechCrunch. “While the companies chopped ties with immoderate problematic apps, Apple and Google person a work to beryllium proactive and vigilant to forestall intersexual abuse.”

Letters sent to Google and Apple by Chiu’s office, which were viewed by TechCrunch, enactment that the companies person “been connected notice” for their relation successful “processing payments for amerciable purchases for astir a year” but have, nevertheless, continued to bash so.

According to the letters, some companies person been repeatedly warned that they are hosting these apps. In January and again successful April, the Tech Transparency Project issued reports and sent letters to some companies noting that determination were “dozens of apps” wrong their app stores that “sold deepfake NCII [non-consensual intimate images] successful speech for payments” from processed by the firms.

TTP’s report from April said that Google and Apple had intentionally “steered” users towards specified apps and called some companies “key participants successful the dispersed of AI tools that tin crook existent radical into sexualized images.”

Additionally, Chiu told Wired that some companies had apt made “millions of dollars successful fees” from apps that offered specified services.

The letters from Chiu’s bureau pass that Apple and Google could look civilian penalties for violating the instrumentality and petition that they interaction the metropolis wrong 28 days.

TechCrunch reached retired to Apple and Google for comment.

Deepfake pornography has largely been a problem for pistillate celebrities, though nudify apps marque it imaginable for anyone with a publically disposable photograph to beryllium targeted.