Official
5 publications · October 16, 2026
Apple updates App Store rules on AI nudify apps and bait-and-switch apps
Key points
- Apple updated its App Review Guidelines on October 16 to cover nonconsensual intimate imagery, including images made with AI tools.
- Sexually explicit content was already banned. The updated rule 1.2 now says developers must proactively prevent and remove AI-generated deepfakes from their apps.
- Apple warns that apps with offending content can be removed from the App Store if developers fail to act.
- A new guideline, 2.5.19, says developers who add features not present in the version submitted for review risk removal from the App Store and the Apple Developer Program.
- Apple ties the new rule to "nudification" apps that hide their real purpose during review and add the feature after approval.
- Apps with hidden or undocumented features are also prohibited, including apps that misrepresent their purpose during review.
Summary
(AI)
These changes are confirmed by Apple. The company announced them in a developer post on October 16, and the coverage describes them as additions to existing moderation rules, not a new ban on explicit content.
The update follows earlier trouble with AI image tools. MacRumors reports that users complained about xAI’s Grok chatbot being used to make nude and sexualized deepfakes. Earlier this year, Apple told xAI it would remove Grok from the App Store if it kept allowing them. xAI added safeguards and Apple approved an updated version of the app. MacRumors says the updated rule 1.2, which names AI content creation apps, could be aimed at apps like Grok. Apple has not said which apps it has in mind.
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