San Francisco tells Apple and Google to remove AI nudify apps

In short: San Francisco’s city attorney ordered Apple and Google to remove 13 apps that can create fake nude images of people without their consent.

What happened

San Francisco city attorney David Chiu sent cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google this week. He demanded they remove 13 “face-swap” apps from the App Store and Google Play.

The city says these apps can be used to make AI-generated nude images of real people without permission. This kind of content is often called a “deepfake” (a fake photo or video made with software that can copy someone’s face and place it onto another body). Chiu said the apps are overwhelmingly used to target women and girls.

The letters also argue that Apple and Google should stop profiting from these apps. The city says the apps use in-app payments, and the app stores take a cut, similar to a mall taking a percentage of sales from stores inside it.

Google told WIRED it has removed “hundreds” of apps with nudifying features for policy violations. Google also said it has restricted related search terms like “nudify” inside its store. Apple did not comment to WIRED before publication.

Why it matters

For regular people, this is about safety and harm, not just app rules. These tools can turn a normal photo into a fake nude in seconds, which can be used for bullying, blackmail, and humiliation. The case also raises a bigger question about how much responsibility app stores have to catch harmful apps before they reach users.

Source: Wired