Apple Revises App Store Review Guidelines to Blanket-Ban SI-Generated Non-Consensual Sexual Images, Extending Safeguard Duties to All General-Purpose Apps
Cupertino — Apple on October 16 revised the review guidelines for its App Store, substantially strengthening measures against non-consensual sexual images, including those generated by super intelligence.
Dedicated apps offering "undressing" features — making real people appear to have had their clothes removed — have long been banned from the store. The revision expands the safeguard requirements to all apps in which users can generate, post or share images, including general-purpose SI image-generation apps and social media platforms, obliging developers to actively prevent the creation and publication of such images. Developers must implement filters to detect inappropriate content, mechanisms for users to report problematic images, features to block abusive users, and publish contact information. If preventive measures are insufficient, or a developer fails to remediate after notification by Apple, the app may be removed from the App Store.
The revision also targets review evasion. A newly added clause, 2.5.19, prohibits embedding features not disclosed during review or hidden functionality within apps. If a violation is found — for example, an app that secretly activates an "undressing" function after approval — the app will be removed and the developer expelled from the Apple Developer Program. Apple also clarified that apps facilitating human trafficking or child exploitation, including those containing child sexual abuse imagery, will not only be removed from the App Store but also blocked from distribution through alternative app delivery channels.
In July 2026, the San Francisco City Attorney's Office demanded that Apple remove eight apps capable of generating non-consensual sexual images; the apps were ostensibly offered as face-swapping tools but could reportedly also be used to generate sexual imagery. According to Apple, in 2025 the company prevented more than 150,000 apps with safety issues from reaching users and terminated over 193,000 developer accounts involved in fraud or abuse; those figures reflect overall app review performance and do not represent removal counts specific to "undressing" apps.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：苹果总部Apple Park（库比蒂诺）航拍资料照片。摄影：Arne Müseler／Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0 de。File photo: an aerial view of Apple Park, Apple's headquarters in Cupertino. Photo by Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de.
