Google & Apple App Stores Actively Promote 'Nudify' & 'Undress' Apps, Research Alleges

A new investigation alleges that Google and Apple's app stores are not just passive hosts for harmful "nudify" and "undress" applications but actively steer users toward them. The research from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) claims the platforms' own search and advertising systems push these apps, which digitally remove women's clothing from images, to potential users. This moves the issue beyond mere content moderation failure into the realm of algorithmic promotion.

According to the report, TTP conducted searches in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store using terms like "nudify" and "undress." The findings suggest the stores' systems surface these apps in response, effectively functioning as a discovery and distribution channel. This builds on TTP's earlier January research, which documented dozens of such apps being hosted on the platforms, indicating a persistent and systemic issue rather than isolated violations.

The active promotion by the world's two dominant mobile app marketplaces significantly amplifies the reach and potential harm of these tools. It places immense scrutiny on the internal policies and algorithmic design choices of Google and Apple, which position themselves as curated, safe ecosystems. The research raises critical questions about the enforcement of content guidelines and whether profit motives from in-app purchases or advertising are influencing platform integrity, potentially exposing more users, including minors, to non-consensual intimate imagery technology.