Earlier this year it was revealed that Apple and Google were offering “nudify” apps on their stores despite having clear policies barring such content. Nearly three months later, such apps are not only still available, but being actively promoted on the iOS App Store and Google Play, according to a new report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP). Many of those were labeled “E” for Everyone, meaning they can be downloaded by children.
Searching for “nudify,” “undress” and other terms in those stores gives users access to apps that can make real people nude or put them into pornographic videos. The new report alleges that “the platforms are key participants in the spread of AI tools that can turn real people into sexualized images,” TTP wrote. The app stores even ran ads for similar nudifying apps in the search results. (Engadget has reached out to Apple and Google for comment.)
The group identified 18 nudify apps in Apple’s App Store and 20 in Google Play. Some were marketed with sexual images, while others weren’t advertised as such but could still be used for deepfakes. Those apps have collectively generated around $122 million in revenue and been downloaded 483 million times, according to the report.
“It’s not just that the companies are failing to actually appropriately review these apps and continue to approve them and profit from them,” TTP director Katie Paul told Bloomberg. “They are actually directing users to the apps themselves.”
Apple and Google both have policies banning sexual or pornographic material, and Google has a specific policy against nudifying apps. Apple told Bloomberg that it removed 15 apps identified by the group, while Google said that it suspended a number of them. One of the apps cited in the report called Video Face Swap AI: DeepFace, advertises itself by showing an actress’s face swapped onto another actress’s body and allows users to put a real person’s face on the bodies of partially undressed women. The app was rated “E” for Everyone.
The proliferation of nudify and deepfake apps has pushed some governments to propose laws against them. The UK’s Children’s Commissioner recently called for a ban on AI deepfake apps that create nude or sexual images of children. The US and other countries have proposed or created laws banning explicit deepfakes, and the California Attorney General recently sent Elon Musk’s X a cease and desist order over Grok’s explicit deepfakes.
Update April 16 at 3:42 AM ET: Google gave Engadget the following comment:
“Google Play does not allow apps that contain sexual content.
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When violations of our policies are reported to us, we investigate and take appropriate action.
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Many of the apps referenced in this report have been suspended from Google Play for violations of our policies.
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Our investigation and enforcement process is ongoing.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-and-google-are-reportedly-pointing-users-to-nudify-apps-065144277.html?src=rss
