Apple and Google built their child-safety tools around one question: what is the kid seeing? Nudify apps ask a different one: whose photo is the kid using?
That gap explains why parental controls keep failing against AI undressing tools.
The numbers
CBS News tested 70 AI photo-editing apps from the Apple and Google stores. It found 19 that produced nude or sexually explicit images or videos from AI-generated adult portraits. Some of those apps carried no age restrictions.
Teens sit on both sides of this problem. CBS cited Common Sense Media data: one in five teens say they have made AI pornography. One in four say they have shared it or know someone who has.
The apps also make money. In January, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) counted 55 nudify apps on Google Play and 47 on the App Store. It tied them to hundreds of millions of downloads and an estimated $117 million in revenue. Apple and Google take a cut of that spending.
Cleanup after exposure
Both companies pulled some apps after the January report. They did not pull all of them.
In April, TTP found the stores did more than host these apps. Search results and ads pointed users straight to them. Autocomplete suggestions led searchers to even more. One flagged app carried an “E for Everyone” rating.
CBS got the same pattern. After the network called, Apple and Google removed most of the apps it flagged. Removal after a reporter’s call is cleanup, not enforcement.
The wrong-user problem
I call this the wrong-user problem. Parental controls protect the account holder. They filter what a child downloads, watches, and receives. Apple’s Communication Safety, for example, checks incoming images for nudity. That works when the child is the viewer.
Nudify abuse breaks the model in three ways:
- The victim never touches the app. A classmate’s photo goes in. The classmate installed nothing.
- The user is often a teen. An age rating gates the download. It cannot judge the output.
- The input looks harmless. An ordinary first-day-of-school photo, a team picture or a selfie passes every filter. The harm happens in the edit.
| Layer | What it checks | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Age rating | Who downloads the app | What it does to someone else’s photo |
| Communication Safety | Nudity in incoming images | Images a teen creates and sends |
| Store review | Descriptions and policy claims | Behavior once the app runs |
| Parental controls | The child’s own activity | Harm to classmates |
Where pressure lands next
Michelle DeLaune, CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, told CBS that Apple and Google owe users protection. She said they should block any app that can create non-consensual sexual content.
That standard judges capability, not intent. It also ends the defense that marketing copy proves compliance. Many of these apps hide behind labels like “avatars” and “dress-up fun.”
Testing solves that. TTP’s researchers uploaded a clothed AI-generated model and prompted each app to undress her. Reviewers can run the same check before approval.
What to watch
- Behavior tests at review. Expect pressure to test what apps produce before they go live.
- Rating changes. A tool that can undress a real person should never carry an “Everyone” label.
- Search and ad cleanup. Autocomplete and sponsored slots now draw the same scrutiny as listings.
- School policy. Many districts still have no rules for AI-driven harassment.
FAQs
Q.What is a nudify app?
It is software, usually AI-driven, that digitally removes clothing from a person in a photo.
Q. Do parental controls block these apps?
Not reliably. Controls track what a child sees and installs. A wrong rating can slip an app past them.
Q. Who should remove them?
Both stores ban such content in their rules. Advocates want enforcement before an app goes live.
Q. What can parents do now?
Check app ratings by hand. Talk with teens about making images of other people. Keep family photo accounts private.
Related: Nearly 1 in 5 Teens Are Creating AI Deepfakes. The Most Alarming Stat Isn’t the Images
