Teenagers can still find and download apps that use artificial intelligence to create nude or sexualized images, even when Apple or Google parental controls are active, according to a new report by the digital advocacy group Tech Transparency Project (TTP). Researchers created four test accounts, two each with Apple and Google, and registered them as belonging to 13-year-olds. They searched for image-editing and face-swapping apps using terms including “AI video generator” and “adult AI”. Across the accounts, they were able to download 135 apps with features that could digitally remove clothing or place a person’s face on a nude body. In their tests, researchers used AI-generated images of women rather than photographs of real people. Two accounts had parental controls set to allow downloads only for apps rated suitable for 13-year-olds, with parental signoff required. Yet the researchers found that neither company required or suggested such approval for any of the nudification apps they tried. The Apple account with controls downloaded 24 apps rated appropriate for 13-year-olds; the Google account downloaded 51. The findings come amid growing reports of students using so-called “nudify” apps to create nonconsensual sexual images of classmates. In December 2025, Morgan Dorfman learned that a student at her daughter’s Pennsylvania high school had used the app Movely to make sexual videos using images of her daughter and five other girls. Dorfman said she had known about deepfakes involving celebrities but did not realize it was possible to create pornographic material from an ordinary person’s picture or screenshot. She downloaded Movely while trying to understand how it worked and prepare information for other parents. Its free version offered suggestive video templates, while the paid version included more explicit options, according to a demonstration she prepared that the Guardian reviewed. TTP found examples of apps whose age ratings did not appear to match their content. One face-swapping app, promoted with an image of a woman performing oral sex, was rated suitable for children aged four and up. Its free version offered templates featuring women in lingerie, while a subscription unlocked pornographic scenarios. Researchers were able to purchase a subscription through a 13-year-old’s account without an alert to the linked parental account. Another app, Image to Video Maker-Vidou AI, carried a rating for users aged nine and older. The report said its opening screen showed a topless woman and that the app offered to digitally undress people, using nude images of female celebrities as demonstrations. Age gates also proved easy to bypass in the tests. When a 13-year-old Apple account tried to download an adult-rated app, a warning appeared, but the account was allowed to confirm that the user was at least 17. A Google account without parental controls was blocked from three age-restricted downloads but could access other nudification apps that developers had rated as suitable for its age. Apple and Google prohibit nudification apps from their stores. Google said it takes proactive steps to detect and remove harmful apps, and that it had suspended apps that violated its rules and restricted related search terms after the findings were raised. Apple said it reviews apps before publication and removes those that misrepresent their features or add prohibited capabilities later. After TTP contacted the company, Apple strengthened its guidelines to require developers to prevent and remove nonconsensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated material. Apple also said some apps in the report were mainstream editing tools without nudification or deepfake features. Taking an app off a store does not necessarily disable it for people who already downloaded it. During the research, Apple removed 25 apps and Google removed six, but researchers could continue using apps already installed. Dorfman said Movely also remained functional on her phone after it was no longer available to download, and that she was still being charged for her subscription. The consequences for victims can persist after an app disappears. Dorfman said her daughter’s school had downplayed the incident, while police later charged the classmate with harassment. She said she could not know whether the videos had been deleted or who might still have them. “We can’t search everyone’s phones, and he deleted the app,” she said. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/19/us-teens-nudify-apps-apple-google-parental-controls