Hidden in Plain Sight: New Report Reveals Dozens of Nudify Apps in Major App Stores

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology which has boosted multiple industries and tasks that could only be done manually earlier. However, it also comes with its share of downsides. One of them was exposed when, in December, xAI's chatbot Grok, which is integrated across X (formerly Twitter), started complying with requests to generate sexually suggestive image edits of users' photos. While developers have now improved the guardrails to limit such edits, it appears that AI-powered “nudifying” apps are mushrooming everywhere.

Multiple “Nudifying” AI Apps Surface Online

According to a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a research initiative by watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, dozens of AI-powered apps that generate either completely or partially undressed images and videos from uploaded photos have surfaced online. The report claims to have identified as many as 55 such apps in Google's Play Store and 47 apps in Apple's App Store.

The watchdog conducted an investigation and claims that these identified apps have collectively been downloaded more than 705 million times worldwide. Citing the app analytics firm AppMagic, it claimed that the apps have generated $117 million (roughly Rs. 1,074 crore) in revenue, highlighting that developers behind these apps are also profiting from such activities.

TTP claimed it found these apps by searching for keywords such as “nudify” and “undress” on both marketplaces. Some of these apps even appeared as top results. Gadgets 360 staff members also verified the claims in a couple of these apps on the Play Store and the App Store. To test the capability, we used fake models generated using AI.

Note: We have taken a conscious decision not to share the names of any of these apps to ensure they are not misused and that people's privacy is not violated.

As per the report, each of these apps provided the undressing feature as a free offering. While some of them stopped at just undressing, others are said to also recreate their likeness in pornographic situations. TTP claimed that it has shared a list of the identified apps with both Apple and Google

Gadgets 360 reached out to Google for comment, but the company did not respond at the time of writing. We will update the story in case they provide a statement.

Both companies did respond to CNBC. A Google spokesperson reportedly told the publication that several apps referenced in the report were suspended for violating its policies, and that the investigation was ongoing. On the other hand, an Apple spokesperson told CNBC that 28 apps identified in the report were removed.