24.09.2026
4 min
158
Apple has tightened its App Store requirements, explicitly banning apps that use artificial intelligence to create sexualized images of real people without their consent. The new rules also target developers who conceal prohibited features during the app review process.
Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines, explicitly restricting services that allow users to create pornographic images of real people without their consent. The changes primarily target so-called nudify apps, which use artificial intelligence to simulate a person’s naked body from an ordinary photograph.
Pornographic content was already prohibited on the App Store, including tools that generate nude images of people without their consent. However, Apple has now explicitly outlined these restrictions in its guidelines to eliminate any ambiguity about how they should be interpreted.
Separate requirements apply to apps that allow users to publish their own content. Developers of these platforms must filter inappropriate material, provide mechanisms for reporting offensive content, and allow users to block accounts that violate the rules.
In particular, the updated guidelines explicitly require platforms to prevent the distribution of non-consensual intimate images, including those generated using AI, and to remove such content. Developers who fail to implement adequate safeguards or address violations after receiving a warning risk losing access to the App Store.
Another issue Apple is addressing involves attempts to bypass App Store moderation. Some developers submit apps with seemingly legitimate features for review, only to unlock functionality that violates the platform’s rules after approval.
This practice is known as bait-and-switch. In the case of nudify apps, it allows developers to conceal tools for generating nude images during the review process and then make them available to users once the app has been approved.
Apple emphasized that apps containing hidden or undocumented features are prohibited. This also applies to apps that mislead reviewers about their actual purpose. Developers who violate these rules risk not only having their apps removed but also being expelled from the Apple Developer Program.
The company explained that the stricter guidelines are a response to emerging risks and technologies that can be exploited for abuse.
“We want great apps and the innovative developers behind them to succeed on the App Store. As new risks and opportunities emerge for users, we are refining our App Review Guidelines to maintain the trust of users and developers,” Apple stated.
Apple also noted that the updates strengthen existing App Store protections built around privacy, quality, and security requirements.
