Apple has updated its App Store rules to more explicitly prohibit AI apps that create intimate images of people without their consent. The changes, announced Friday, also set out what developers must do to address that content.
Apple faced criticism earlier this year after X users used Grok to create nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes, including images of minors. Apple did not remove X or Grok from the App Store, though it told senators it had threatened to remove Grok.
At Apple’s WWDC event in June, protesters called on the company to “remove Grok, X, and all nudify technology from the App Store.” In July, a San Francisco city attorney ordered Apple to remove 13 “nudify” apps. Apple said it removed them.
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Under the updated content moderation requirements, developers “must proactively prevent and remove” nonconsensual sexual images. Apple says developers who “fail to implement adequate safeguards” or “don’t remedy violations after notice” may be removed from the App Store.
Apple also clarified its rule against “bait-and-switch” apps. It covers apps that add or change features, including “nudification,” after approval. That addresses how an app’s features can differ from those Apple initially reviewed.
The rules also state that apps that “facilitate human trafficking or the exploitation of children” will be removed from the App Store and “blocked from alternative distribution.”
