San Francisco Cracks Down: Tech Giants Forced to Kill Nudify Apps

San Francisco city officials just ordered Apple and Google to strip dozens of nudify apps off their app stores. These programs use artificial intelligence to alter real photos and digitally undress people without their consent. City leaders want these software tools gone immediately, pointing directly to California state laws that ban the spread of non-consensual deepfake pornography.

California law makes it a crime to knowingly help create or spread non-consensual intimate images. State legislation passed back in 2025 also gives victims the right to file civil lawsuits against platforms that facilitate these pictures. Despite those rules on the books, city officials say Apple and Google kept hosting these tools and making money off subscription fees and processing charges.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu called out both platforms directly, stating they profit off apps that exploit women and girls. Letters sent from his office to Apple and Google warn that both companies knew about these illegal tools for almost a year. Outside watchdogs warned them repeatedly about the problem.

Reports from the Tech Transparency Project issued early in the year documented dozens of deepfake tools inside the App Store and Google Play. Those apps sold fake nude images in exchange for in-app payments. A follow-up report from April claimed Apple and Google steered users toward these tools, turning regular portrait photos into sexualized images for a cut of the revenue. Chiu estimated both tech giants made millions of dollars in processing fees from these services over time.

The formal letters give Apple and Google 28 days to contact the city attorney office or face civil penalties. City prosecutors plan to hold the platforms accountable if they keep taking money from developers who build these deepfake generators.

Both corporations responded to the pressure by taking down specific apps. Apple stated its guidelines strictly ban deepfake nude generators. Apple confirmed it removed three offending apps, banned the developer accounts involved, and flagged four other platforms for potential policy violations.

Google stated it suspended all five Play Store apps named in the official letter from the city attorney. The company said it takes quick action when developers break the rules. Google also blocked search terms related to nudify programs to stop users from finding similar software on its store.

Deepfake technology poses a real danger to everyday people. Anyone with a publicly posted photo on social media can become a target. By hitting Apple and Google in their wallets and threatening legal action, city leaders hope to shut down the financial engine behind these non-consensual image tools for good.