Apple updates App Store rules to ban nudify AI apps

Apple has updated its App Store guidelines to more explicitly prohibit so-called nudify applications, which are artificial intelligence tools that generate intimate or nude images of individuals without their consent. This policy update targets the growing issue of digital privacy violations and nonconsensual sexual content.

The policy shift follows significant public and political backlash earlier this year when users on the X platform utilized Grok to create nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes, including images involving minors. While Apple did not pull X or Grok from the App Store at the time, the company later informed U.S. senators that it had threatened to remove Grok.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Furthermore, during Apple's WWDC event in June, protestors urged the company to remove Grok, X, and all nudify technology from the platform. Later in July, a San Francisco city attorney ordered Apple to remove 13 nudify apps, a directive the company complied with.

Under the updates announced on Friday, Apple outlined strict new moderation requirements:

• Developers must proactively prevent and remove nonconsensual sexual images.
• Failing to implement adequate safeguards or remedy violations leads to removal from the App Store.
• Bait-and-switch apps that introduce features like nudification after initial approval are strictly barred.
• Apps facilitating human trafficking or child exploitation are blocked from alternative distribution channels.

Source: The Verge