Apps offered pornographic deepfakes from any image

An investigation by DR Verificerer found 101 so-called nudify apps that promised to create pornographic deepfake videos from a single image. The apps were available in the Danish versions of Apple’s App Store and Google’s app store when the investigation was conducted in August 2026.

Nine of the apps were available through Google’s store, while 92 were listed in Apple’s Danish App Store. Some had age ratings indicating that users as young as nine could download them.

The apps were presented as harmless artificial intelligence tools. One app described itself in Apple’s store as a service where users could upload a photo, choose a styling scenario and receive personalised outfit suggestions.

But when opened, the app displayed large numbers of AI-generated pornographic films and promised that users could create similar videos by uploading a single image. Users were offered categories and prompts including “blowjob”, “breast massage”, “rape” and “cowgirl”.

All of the apps could be downloaded despite violating the rules of both Google and Apple. They have now been removed from the two app stores.

DR Verificerer found that more than 29,000 advertisements targeting a Danish audience directed users to the 101 apps. The advertisements appeared on Meta’s social platforms Instagram and Facebook, where AI-generated pornographic advertisements have previously been reported.

Apple’s rules state that overtly sexual or pornographic material, including the explicit depiction of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings, is not allowed in apps.

Google’s rules say the company does not allow apps or app content that appear to promote or solicit a sexual act for payment. It also prohibits apps that contain or promote content linked to sexually exploitative or abusive behaviour, or that distribute non-consensual sexual content.

In-app purchases ranging from 9 to 1,799 kroner were advertised in all 92 of the Apple apps and in four of the Google apps. Users could buy coins, diamonds and VIP subscriptions, which the apps said could be used to create exclusive videos and make AI characters say specific phrases.

Apple and Google take commissions when users make purchases in apps downloaded from their stores. According to the companies’ terms, the commissions range from 10 to 30 per cent of the payments.

Apple does not show how many times an app has been downloaded. Google’s store showed that four of the apps investigated by DR Verificerer had been downloaded a combined 102,001 times.

According to the apps’ own descriptions in the stores, 73 of the 101 apps could be downloaded by people under 18.

A 2025 study by researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute found that more than 35,000 publicly available tools could be used to generate sexual deepfake content involving people.

DR Verificerer contacted the listed representatives of the developers behind all 101 apps. The apps identified the developers’ headquarters, and many were traced to several Chinese provinces. None of the developers responded to the written requests.

Apple told DR that the developers had submitted apps that complied with its App Review guidelines but changed their behaviour after approval, while advertising on Meta’s platforms features that would not have been allowed in the App Store.

Apple said its teams were working to identify and remove apps using this kind of bait and switch, in which an app is changed after approval, as well as the developer accounts behind them. The company said the apps described in the investigation had already been identified and removed through its review processes and that the associated developer accounts had been closed.