Apple and Google both say they ban nudify apps, which use AI to make fake nude or sexualised images of real people. A watchdog posing as a 13-year-old boy still found 135 of them, and the parental controls on both stores did not stop it.
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) published the findings on 19 October 2026, and The Guardian reported them first. Here is what the test found, why the safeguards failed, and what you can do about it.
Key takeaways
- TTP set up four accounts for a fictional 13-year-old boy in the US, two on Apple’s App Store and two on Google Play. One account on each store had parental controls switched on.
- Together the accounts could reach 135 nudify-capable apps. AppMagic data puts those apps at 5.5 billion downloads and $3.9 billion in global revenue.
- Searches for words like “nudify” were blocked. Ordinary searches such as “face swap” and “AI try on” still brought these apps up.
- As of 28 September 2026, Apple had removed 25 of the apps and Google had removed six. The removed apps kept working on phones that already had them.
Why does this matter so much?
The harm is already happening. According to The Guardian, a Pennsylvania parent named Morgan Dorfman learned in December 2025 that a student at her daughter’s high school had used an AI image-editing app called Movely to make sexual videos from photos of her daughter and five other girls.
All it takes is one ordinary photo from social media and a free app. That is why the age gate on the app store matters: for most families it is the first line of defence.
How nudify apps got past Apple and Google parental controls
The core problem is self-rating. Both stores rely on developers to describe their own apps’ features, and that description sets the age rating. If a developer leaves out what an app can do, it can end up rated suitable for children.
Think of a nightclub where the bouncer only checks the label each guest wrote on their own wristband. TTP found apps rated 4+ and 9+ that could put women in lingerie or undress them. One face-swap app rated 4+ moved to 18+ only after the researchers flagged it.
Here is how many nudify-capable apps each test account could reach:
| Test account (age 13) | Nudify apps reached | What stood in the way |
|---|---|---|
| Apple, default settings | 61 | A pop-up asking the user to confirm they were 17 or older |
| Apple, parental controls on | 24 | Parent approval, but many apps were rated for younger users |
| Google, default settings | 47 | Three blocks, all set by the app developers rather than Google |
| Google, parental controls on | 51 | Adult-rated apps were hidden, but mislabelled ones got through |
Look at the Google rows. The supervised account reached more of these apps than the unsupervised one. On Google Play, the parental controls made almost no difference.
What other gaps did the test find?
- Ads: the Apple accounts saw ads for 13 nudify apps and the Google accounts saw ads for five. Some of those ads were sexually explicit.
- Gift cards: neither store told the parent when the teen used a gift card to buy a subscription inside an app that was already installed. Apple told TTP that “would be unexpected behavior”.
- Setup: neither company required or even suggested parental controls when the teen account was created.
None of this is new. TTP’s April 2026 report found the stores’ own ads and autocomplete pointing users to nudify apps. A January 2026 study by the group counted 102 such apps with more than 705 million downloads.
How did Apple and Google respond?
Apple told TTP: “We prohibit nudify apps on the App Store.” Three days after TTP contacted it, Apple added a rule banning apps that create “nonconsensual intimate imagery”, including with AI. It also tightened its rules on hidden or undocumented features.
Apple also disputed part of the count. It said an app that puts a clothed woman in a bikini or lingerie is not a nudify app, and pointed to mainstream editors such as CapCut and Picsart as examples.
Google said it does not allow apps that “nudify images of people”. It said it had suspended the apps that broke its rules and restricted related search terms.
My view: banning a feature only works if you check for it. Removing apps after a watchdog finds them, while copies keep running on teenagers’ phones, is cleanup after the damage is done.
What happens next
The legal pressure is growing. The federal Take It Down Act, signed in May 2025, makes it a crime to knowingly publish intimate images of someone without consent, including AI-generated “digital forgeries”. Since 19 May 2026 it has also required platforms to remove reported images within 48 hours, with FTC penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, according to law firm WilmerHale.
The Act deals with images after they are shared. It does not cover the app that made them. That is why lawmakers in Congress and in several states, including Utah and Texas, are pushing app-store age verification laws that would put responsibility on Apple and Google instead of on each developer. Expect TTP’s findings to be quoted in those debates.
What can parents do now?
- Turn on Screen Time (Apple) or Family Link (Google), and set downloads and purchases to require your approval.
- Read the store page before you approve any “AI photo”, “face swap” or “AI video” app, and don’t rely on the age rating alone.
- Check gift card balances and active subscriptions every month.
- Talk to your kids about deepfakes before something happens. Tell them that if they become a target, it is not their fault, and that intimate images can be reported for removal under the Take It Down Act.
Generative AI has spread into everyday tools very quickly, as we covered in how AI is transforming small businesses. Safety checks have not kept up.
FAQ
What is a nudify app?
It is an app that uses AI to make a clothed photo of a real person look naked or sexualised, usually without their consent. TTP’s count also included apps that put women in bikinis or lingerie.
Did parental controls stop nudify apps in the test?
Only partly. The supervised Apple account could still reach 24 of these apps and the supervised Google account 51, mostly because the apps had low age ratings.
Are the apps gone now?
Some are. As of 28 September 2026, Apple had removed 25 and Google six, but copies that were already installed kept working.
Your next step: open your child’s phone and check which AI photo apps are installed and what age rating each one has.
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