The world's two largest app stores are hosting over 100 AI-powered apps designed to create non-consensual nude images, according to a damning report released Tuesday by Tech Transparency Project. The investigation found 55 nudify apps on Google Play and 47 in the Apple App Store - apps that collectively have racked up 700 million downloads and generated $117 million in revenue while violating both platforms' stated safety policies. The discovery comes weeks after Elon Musk's Grok AI faced backlash for similar capabilities, raising urgent questions about how tech giants police AI-generated content.
Apple and Google are scrambling to remove dozens of AI-powered apps that create non-consensual nude images, but the damage to their reputation as trusted platforms may already be done. A report released Tuesday by Tech Transparency Project exposed a stunning lapse in content moderation, revealing that both app stores have been hosting sophisticated nudify apps despite explicit policies against such content.
The numbers are staggering. TTP's January investigation identified 55 apps on Google Play and 47 in the Apple App Store that use artificial intelligence to digitally undress people from ordinary photos. These apps have been downloaded more than 700 million times worldwide and generated $117 million in revenue, according to app analytics firm AppMagic. Both Apple and Google take a cut of that revenue through their standard commission structures.
"Both companies say they are dedicated to the safety and security of users, but they host a collection of apps that can turn an innocuous photo of a woman into an abusive, sexualized image," TTP wrote in its report shared exclusively with CNBC.
After TTP and CNBC contacted the companies last week, Apple removed 28 apps on Monday and warned other developers they risked removal if guideline violations weren't fixed. But TTP's follow-up review found only 24 apps actually disappeared from the store. Two apps were even restored after developers resubmitted versions that supposedly addressed Apple's concerns. A spokesperson said the company suspended several apps for policy violations but wouldn't specify how many, saying its investigation was ongoing.
