Researchers posing as teens downloaded 135 nudify apps, report finds
Researchers posing as 13-year-olds were able to download 135 apps that can digitally remove clothing from a person in a photo or swap faces onto nude bodies, according to a report from the Tech Transparency Project shared exclusively with The Guardian and released on Monday.
The researchers created four test accounts, two on Apple and two on Google, that listed the account holder as 13 years old. Using those accounts, they searched the app stores with terms such as "AI video generator" or "adult AI" for image-editing or face-swapping apps, then downloaded apps offering nudification features, meaning tools that undress people in images or create sexualized imagery.
For the tests, the researchers used AI-generated images of women rather than photographs of real women to try the disrobing functions.
Both Apple and Google prohibit apps of this type from their platforms. The two companies often age-gate apps containing adult material, a system intended to restrict or block access by minors.
The report follows a case in December 2025 in which a student at a Pennsylvania high school used an AI image-editing app called Movely to create sexual videos from pictures of six girls, including the daughter of Morgan Dorfman, according to The Guardian.
Apple has in recent years described expanded parental tools for managing Child Accounts, which include an option for parents to share a child's age range so an app can provide an age-appropriate experience, according to Apple. In June 2026, Apple previewed further child safety features giving parents greater control over content, communication and device access time, according to Apple.
In April, Bloomberg reported that Apple and Google continued to offer mobile apps that let users make nonconsensual sexualized images despite policies against them.
