Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines with new measures aimed at strengthening protections against harmful content and deceptive app review practices. The changes follow a string of reports and controversies over the past year involving apps that skirt Apple's rules and expose users, including minors, to inappropriate material. Tech Transparency Project identified dozens of AI-powered "nudify" apps on the App Store in January, and a follow-up investigation in April found that App Store search suggestions and advertisements were directing users to them. In July, San Francisco officials ordered Apple to remove eight apps capable of generating nonconsensual intimate imagery, and a 9to5Mac investigation uncovered dozens of apps disguising gambling platforms as simple games and utilities. The Grok controversy also drew scrutiny, after Elon Musk's AI chatbot was used to generate nonconsensual sexualized images of women and minors. Apple later confirmed it had privately warned xAI that Grok could be removed unless the issue was addressed.
Under Section 1.2, which covers user-generated content, Apple now states that developers who fail to implement appropriate safeguards or fail to remediate identified violations after notice may be considered in violation of the Developer Code of Conduct. A particularly important change targets so-called "bait-and-switch" apps that misrepresent their purpose during review and reveal harmful capabilities, such as nudification, only after approval. The new Section 2.5.19 prohibits hidden, dormant, or undocumented features, and specifically calls out code obfuscation as grounds for removal and termination of a developer account.
Finally, under Section 5 (Legal), Apple strengthened its language on apps that facilitate human trafficking or the exploitation of children, stating that such apps will be removed from the App Store and blocked from alternative distribution.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing