Apple Updates App Store Rules to Ban AI 'Nudify' Apps More Explicitly
Apple has revised its App Store rules to more clearly prohibit apps that use AI to create intimate images of people without their consent. The changes follow criticism over the misuse of Grok on X.
Apple announced updated App Store guidelines on Friday, October 16, that more explicitly ban so-called "nudify" apps, which use AI tools to generate intimate images of people without their consent. The changes matter because they set the requirements for every developer distributing apps through Apple's store.
What the new requirements say
Under Apple's content moderation requirements, developers must proactively prevent and remove nonconsensual sexual images. Developers that fail to put adequate safeguards in place, or that do not fix violations after receiving notice, may be removed from the App Store.
Apple also clarified its rule on "bait-and-switch" apps, meaning apps that add or change features, including "nudification," after being approved. In addition, the rules now state more clearly that apps facilitating human trafficking or the exploitation of children will be pulled from the store and blocked from alternative distribution.
Background
The changes follow significant criticism of Apple. Earlier this year, users of the social network X used the Grok AI chatbot to produce nonconsensual, sexualized deepfakes, including images of minors. Apple did not remove X or Grok from the App Store, although it told senators it had threatened to pull Grok.
In June, protestors at Apple's WWDC developer conference called for the removal of Grok, X and all nudify technology from the store. In July, a San Francisco city attorney ordered Apple to take down 13 such apps, which Apple said it did.
