Your smartphone’s app store has a dirty secret. While Apple and Google publicly ban apps that create non-consensual sexual content, they’re quietly profiting from a $122 million ecosystem of AI “nudify” tools—and 54 civil rights organizations just told state attorneys general to make them pay for it.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Tech giants take millions in cuts while steering users toward abuse apps
The Tech Transparency Project’s investigation reveals the scope of this hypocrisy. Apple’s App Store hosts 47 nudify apps while Google Play carries 55, collectively downloaded 705 million times worldwide. With standard 15-30% revenue cuts, both tech companies pocket millions from tools designed to strip clothes from photos without consent.
Even more damaging? Both platforms actively direct users to these apps through search autocomplete and paid advertisements. Type “AI NS” into Apple’s App Store, and autocomplete suggests “image to video ai nsfw”—leading straight to nudify tools. About 40% of search results for terms like “undress” return apps capable of rendering women nude.
Some carry age ratings for children as young as four years old.
From Warnings to Legal Action
Coalition escalates pressure as state enforcement begins
UltraViolet Action’s campaign director Jenna Sherman puts it bluntly: Apple and Google are “actively directing users to the tune of millions of dollars” toward abuse tools. Previous attorney general warnings in August 2025 and January 2026 were ignored. The timing of this latest letter coincides with new app store accountability laws taking effect.
“The time has passed to appeal to the conscience” of tech CEOs, Sherman argues. “What we need now are real legal consequences.” Ben Winters from the Consumer Federation of America agrees, saying the platforms “won’t stop this abuse out of the goodness of their own heart.”
The Human Cost Behind the Revenue
Indigenous women and girls face new frontier of digital violence
Dr. Crystal Cavalier from the Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Coalition frames this as more than a tech policy issue. Indigenous communities already face disproportionate violence, and AI deepfake abuse creates “a new frontier of digital violence” that further endangers vulnerable populations. “Human dignity, bodily sovereignty, and the safety of future generations must come before corporate profit,” she states.
The coalition’s letter arrives at the National Association of Attorneys General’s spring conference, presenting a critical test. Will legal pressure succeed where public shaming and policy appeals have failed? Your app store’s safety standards might depend on the answer.
