Apple and Google told to take down these illegal — and exploitative — apps

Apple and Google were on the receiving end of multiple letters telling them to stop allowing abusive apps to be available on their platforms.

The City of San Francisco said it had been contacting the tech giants for almost a year to get them to stop, but they have continued to provide access to the apps while raking in profits.

‘Apple and Google have a responsibility to be proactive and vigilant to prevent sexual abuse.’

San Francisco accused both companies of “processing payments for illegal purchases” that allow users to digitally alter pictures using AI to unclothe whomever is in the photograph.

Commonly referred to as “nudify” apps, the city reportedly ordered dozens of the programs to be removed, as Apple and Google have continued to make money off them.

“Apple and Google are profiting off apps that exploit women and girls by generating nonconsensual intimate deepfakes,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu told TechCrunch. “While the companies cut ties with some problematic apps, Apple and Google have a responsibility to be proactive and vigilant to prevent sexual abuse.”

Dozens of states have codified protections after Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sponsored the TAKE IT DOWN Act in early 2025, which passed with a vote of 409-2 in the House and unanimously in the Senate.

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Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The law made it a federal crime to knowingly publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate imagery using a computer service, no matter if it is real or fake. Penalties include up to two years in prison for adult victims and three years if the victim is a minor.

According to Stack Cybersecurity, 30 states have enacted these protections, while 46 states have their own laws targeting AI-generated media.

An Apple spokesman told TechCrunch that such apps were forbidden from the App Store and that the company has immediately removed three of those suggested by San Francisco.

“[We] are in the process of terminating their developer accounts from our program. We are in contact with four others that need to address policy violations or risk being removed as well,” the spokesman said.

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At the same time, Google said that all five apps referenced by the California city were suspended from Google Play.

“When violations are reported to us, we investigate and take swift action, which in the case of these apps has included suspending hundreds of violating apps and restricting related search terms like ‘nudify’ on our store.”

Meta began cracking down on such imagery in 2025, when deepfake “nudify” ads started popping up on its social media platform.

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