Apple and Google App Stores Host apps That Undress People, Profiting From Their Popularity
This article details a report by the Tech transparency Project (TTP) revealing the widespread availability of “nudify” and “undressing” apps on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, despite these apps violating stated app store policies.
Here are the key takeaways:
* Notable Reach & Revenue: These apps have been downloaded over 705 million times globally and generated $117 million in revenue. Apple and Google directly profit from this revenue through their commission structures.
* Policy Violations: Both app stores have policies prohibiting depictions of nudity or sexually suggestive content, and apps that degrade or objectify people – policies these “nudify” apps appear to violate.
* Easy to Find: A simple search for terms like “nudify” or “undress” readily surfaces these apps,some of which even advertise using these keywords.
* Apple’s Justification for Commissions: This report highlights a potential contradiction.Apple has argued that its high commissions (up to 30%) are partially justified by the costs of maintaining app store safety through review processes. However, these apps slipped through the cracks.
* Recent Examples of App Store Oversight Issues: The article points to previous instances of problematic apps making it onto the App Store, such as numerous clones of OpenAI’s Sora 2 that charged high subscription fees.
The report raises questions about the effectiveness of app store review processes and the extent to which Apple and Google are prioritizing safety and policy enforcement over profit.
