Apple updated its App Store Review Guidelines on October 16 to strengthen restrictions against apps that hide nudification features or generate non-consensual intimate images using AI. The changes target apps that misrepresent their purpose during review or reveal harmful capabilities only after approval, a tactic known as bait-and-switch, according to medianama.com.
The revised guidelines clarify that apps hosting user-generated content must actively prevent and remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated ones. Developers are required to provide mechanisms for users to report offensive content and block abusive accounts. Section 2.5.19 explicitly prohibits developers from introducing undisclosed features after approval, with violations potentially leading to app and developer removal from the App Store.
These updates build on Apple's existing bans on pornographic content and apps facilitating human trafficking or child exploitation. By tightening enforcement around AI-generated non-consensual images and hidden features, Apple aims to curb misuse of AI in intimate content creation and maintain platform safety. The move follows growing concerns over AI's role in generating harmful content and aligns with broader industry efforts to regulate AI-driven abuse.
Apple's updated guidelines came into effect immediately on October 16, with developers required to comply or face removal. The company emphasized that apps facilitating child sexual abuse material or human trafficking will be removed without exception, reinforcing its zero-tolerance stance on such content.