Apple has updated its moderation policy for the App Store to make sure people aren’t using applications, including those that use AI tools, to “nudify” or turn normal images into sexually explicit content. The company has long prohibited pornographic materials in the App Store, and apps that were specifically made to generate sexually explicit imagery haven’t been allowed for a long time. Now, Apple also wants developers to proactively police the use of their applications. 

Developers with apps that host user-generated content are now required to filter nonconsensual intimate imagery, including those generated using AI tools. They must give users a way to report offensive content and block abusive accounts. They must also prevent users from being able to upload those kinds of images, and they must remove any that slip through their filters. If they fail to implement adequate safeguards of fail to remedy any violation after they had been notified, they risk being removed from the store. 

In addition, it clarified its rules for apps that use bait-and-switch tactics on the company. If Apple finds that an app has misrepresented its purpose during review and that it actually has “nudification” capabilities, it will remove the app from the store and its creator from the Apple Developer Program.