A recent study identified 55 nudity apps in the Google Play Store that can digitally remove the clothes from women and render them completely or partially naked or clad them in a bikini or other minimal clothing. The report also added that there are 47 such nudity apps in the Apple App Store. However we all know that Apple and Google have a policy against nudity in their respective app stores.
The study with regards to the nudity apps has been conducted by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) following t he recent controversy over people using Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot to undress women and children on X. Following this, pressure was put on Apple and Google to remove X and Grok apps from their app stores.
Controversy
It is worth mentioning here that, Apple and Google may now feel less pressure to remove the X app from their app stores now that X has promised to clean up its image generation feature. X and the standalone Grok app remain available in both app stores.
However the study by TTP revealed that for Apple and Google, the problem of undressing apps goes far beyond Grok. The apps identified by TTP have been collectively downloaded more than 705 million times worldwide and generated $117 million in revenue, according to AppMagic, an app analytics firm.
The Google Play Store prohibits “depictions of sexual nudity, or sexually suggestive poses in which the subject is nude” or “minimally clothed.” It also bans apps that “degrade or objectify people, such as apps that claim to undress people or see through clothing, even if labeled as prank or entertainment apps.”
Apple states that apps should not produce content that is “offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy,” including “overtly sexual or pornographic material.”
TTP’s findings show that Google and Apple have failed to keep pace with the spread of AI deepfake apps that can “nudify” people without their permission. Both companies say they are dedicated to the safety and security of users, but they host a collection of apps that can turn an innocuous photo of a woman into an abusive, sexualized image.
TTP entered terms like “nudify” and “undress” into the search bars of both the Apple and Google app stores and testified that there were dozens of apps that came up in the top results. TTP used several simple instructions in the apps that they made a woman completely or partially nude. Not only photos the same could be done with videos. However, the developers of these apps did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with the video and image generator apps described above, TTP tested a number of face swap apps. These apps often promote themselves as a way to create funny memes or an avatar to try on clothes, but TTP found that some of them can be used to create nude images.
Conclusion
Apple and Google are offering dozens of apps capable of removing the clothes from people in photos or putting them in sexualized poses—with no safeguards to prevent the creation of nonconsensual, sexualized images. Such images can be easily distributed on social media or used to bully or harass people.
The apps mentioned in this report likely represent just a fraction of the undressing apps available in the app stores. TTP’s findings suggest the companies are not effectively policing their platforms or enforcing their own policies when it comes to these types of apps.
