Apple tightens App Store rules against AI deepfake and nudify apps

What happened

Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines, the rules developers must follow for their apps. According to 9to5Mac, the changes are meant to strengthen protections against harmful content and deceptive app review practices. The update was posted on 16 October 2026 [1].

The main changes, as reported by MacRumors and described by Apple, are:

• AI deepfakes: Sexually explicit content was already banned. Apple now says app developers must proactively prevent and remove AI-generated deepfakes, which are realistic fake images or videos made with AI, from their platforms [2].
• Consequences: Apple warns that apps with offending content could be removed from the App Store if developers fail to act [2].
• Rule 1.2: The updated rule names AI content creation apps [2].
• Guideline 2.5.19: This new guideline says developers who add features or functions not present in the version of an app submitted for review risk removal from the App Store and the Apple Developer Program [2].
• Nudification apps: Apple links the new guideline to ‘nudification’ apps, which create sexually explicit images of real people without their consent. Apple suggests some of these apps hid their true purpose during review and added the nudify feature after approval [2].
• Bait-and-switch: Apps with hidden or undocumented features are now prohibited. This includes apps that misrepresent their purpose during review and reveal harmful abilities, such as ‘nudification’, only after approval. This tactic is commonly known as bait-and-switch [2].
• Human trafficking and child exploitation: Apple also updated section 5 to extend its ban on apps that facilitate human trafficking or child exploitation to alternative app distribution [2].

Who is affected

Developers of AI content creation apps and nudification apps are most directly affected by the new rules [2]. MacRumors reports that the updated rule 1.2 could be targeting apps like Grok, the chatbot from xAI, among others [2].

MacRumors notes that users had complained about Grok being used to make nude and sexualized deepfakes. Earlier this year, Apple told xAI it would remove Grok from the App Store if it continued to permit nude deepfakes. xAI put safeguards in place, and Apple approved an updated version of the app [2].

What to do next

According to Apple’s developer news post, developers must proactively prevent and remove AI-generated deepfakes from their apps, and must not add hidden features that appear only after review [2]. Apple says it does not hesitate to remove apps and to terminate the developers behind them when they break these guidelines [2]. The full updated guidelines are on Apple’s website [2].