Apple Tightens App Store Rules After 400-App Deepfake Network Emerges
Updated
Updated · meteoraweb.com · Nov 2
Apple Tightens App Store Rules After 400-App Deepfake Network Emerges
3 articles · Updated · meteoraweb.com · Nov 2
Summary
Apple’s October 16 guideline update explicitly bans apps that host or fail to remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes, and warns violators they can be kicked from the App Store.
Rule 2.5.19 also targets bait-and-switch tactics by barring apps from adding hidden functions after approval, with penalties extending beyond app removal to expulsion from the Apple Developer Program.
Section 5 now says apps tied to child sexual abuse material or minor exploitation will be blocked from alternative distribution too, widening enforcement beyond Apple’s own store.
Wired’s investigation found more than 400 apps and domains linked to a commercial deepfake network; Apple removed 19 apps after the report, saying they passed review before developers changed server-side content.
Apple said it blocked over 150,000 risky apps and shut 193,000 developer accounts last year, but the case underscores a gap in post-approval monitoring when harmful features are activated later.