Abusive image tools hid behind ordinary-looking AI apps
Approval is not the end of app review. WIRED reports a network that could show ordinary-looking apps while loading websites with tools for nonconsensual sexual deepfakes. Apple says it removed 19 apps after the inquiry. The network count is not a count of confirmed abusive apps across the store.
What the source reports
WIRED reports on researchers who studied code linked to a network of more than 400 apps and domains. The network could hide interfaces for nonconsensual sexual deepfake tools behind ordinary-looking consumer apps. Apple told WIRED that some apps changed the websites they loaded after approval. It said it removed 19 apps after WIRED contacted the company. The network figure counts linked apps and domains together; it is not a count of app downloads or removed apps. Nor does this investigation measure how common such features are across the full app store. It points to a problem that can emerge after an app passes its first review.
Original source
- Title
- Hundreds of Mundane AI Apps Are Hiding Sexually Abusive Deepfake Features
- Author
- Matt Burgess
- Publication
- WIRED
- Date
- Monday, November 2, 2026