Apple updates app guidelines to target AI-generated nudity

Apple has updated its app review guidelines to specifically address AI tools that generate images appearing to undress real people. The new rules aim to prevent apps from using hidden features to produce or distribute non-consensual intimate content.

Hidden features now prohibited

Apple’s revised guidelines now explicitly ban any hidden, dormant, or undocumented features in apps. This change comes after thousands of users on X asked Elon Musk’s Grok AI to undress women and minors, prompting Apple to threaten removing Grok from the App Store before it was corrected.

Bait-and-switch tactic exposed

Apple has identified a common tactic where developers submit seemingly harmless apps for approval and later activate hidden "nudification" features. The company calls this approach "bait-and-switch" and has removed nearly 59,000 apps that were initially approved as games or utilities but later used for scams.

Apple combats hidden code techniques

Developers may use obfuscation—making their code difficult to read—to hide prohibited features from Apple's review teams. While obfuscation can have legitimate uses, it is also exploited to bypass app store guidelines, prompting Apple to tighten its rules and increase scrutiny.

New rules extend beyond the App Store

Apple has updated section 5 of its guidelines to block apps that facilitate human trafficking or child exploitation not only on the App Store but also on alternative distribution channels in Europe, as mandated by the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Tech Transparency Project highlights scale of issue

An American NGO, the Tech Transparency Project, found 47 "nudification" apps on the App Store and 55 on Google Play, collectively generating over 700 million downloads and $117 million in revenue. Apple removed 28 of these apps after the report was published.

Apple's search engine links to prohibited apps

The NGO also found that Apple's search engine suggested "nudification" apps when users searched for terms like "AI NS." Apple later removed 15 reported apps, but the revised guidelines do not address how the search engine or advertisements might promote such apps.

Google and Apple respond to public pressure

After pressure from San Francisco’s City Attorney, Google suspended hundreds of apps and restricted searches for terms like "nudify." Apple removed three of eight apps requested for removal by the attorney, but it did not respond to questions about its search engine's role in promoting prohibited content.

DMA creates new challenges for app stores

The Digital Markets Act allows alternative app distribution channels in Europe, which could enable prohibited apps to be reinstalled on iPhones through third-party stores. Platforms like Apple must now ensure these new channels also comply with their rules against illegal content and abuse.

Bait-and-switch strategy explained

"Bait-and-switch" involves submitting an app that appears to meet all guidelines, only to change its behavior after approval. This can be done through updates, hidden parameters, or remote activation, making it difficult for app stores to detect and prevent such practices.

DMA’s impact on app distribution

The Digital Markets Act allows users in Europe to install apps from sources other than the official App Store. While this offers more choice for developers, it also means platforms must ensure that prohibited apps do not reappear on these alternative channels, complicating enforcement of rules against harmful content.