WASHINGTON, DC (April 17, 2026) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is urging the Apple App Store and Google Play to immediately remove the search capability and ads for “nudify” apps, as the Tech Transparency Project revealed. The Apple App Store is on NCOSE’s 2026 Dirty Dozen List of mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation because it lulls parents with “kid-safe” labels while exposing children to hidden online dangers.
“It is unconscionable that the Apple App Store and Google Play are targeting users with ads for ‘nudify’ apps and enabling anyone, including children, to be able to search for these exploitative apps. These dangerous apps, which create nude pictures of anyone, are perpetuating image-based sexual abuse,” said Haley McNamara, Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“NCOSE’s own research confirms that the Apple App Store, which we placed on our 2026 Dirty Dozen List, lulls parents with ‘kid-safe’ labels while exposing children to hidden online dangers. In addition to the ‘nudify’ tools found by the Tech Transparency Project, NCOSE found high-risk apps that connect 13-year-olds+ with random strangers online. Even well-established risky apps for sexual exploitation like Snapchat and Instagram are rated as safe for 12+. The Apple App Store rating and review system is woefully superficial, and it puts real people in harm’s way,” she said.
NCOSE pointed out that Tech Transparency Project investigators found that several deepfake-porn apps—including PicX, Tapart, MatureAI, and Artifusion—were able to slip into the Apple App Store by disguising themselves as harmless photo-editing tools. Although Apple’s guidelines explicitly ban offensive or sexually exploitative content, the developers avoided detection by using innocuous descriptions in the App Store while advertising the apps’ real “remove clothes” features on social media. Apple removed the apps after journalists exposed them, showing just how easily Apple’s review system can miss dangerous apps and how simple it is for harmful AI tools to slip through the cracks.
NCOSE research revealed apps like Peep, Hoop, and Whipd – which are designed to connect minors with strangers create direct pathways for grooming and abuse – are marketed and accessible for children 12+ on the Apple App Store.
“Both Apple and Google must take action immediately instead of leaving young people vulnerable to harm,” said McNamara.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
