Overview
- Apple, which updated its App Review Guidelines on Friday, October 16, 2026, now requires developers to proactively prevent and remove AI-generated nonconsensual intimate images from apps.
- The new rule 2.5.19 explicitly bans hidden, dormant, or undocumented features and code obfuscation used to conceal harmful capabilities during review, making such tactics grounds for app removal and developer account termination.
- Section 5 was strengthened to state that apps that facilitate human trafficking or the sexual exploitation of children will be removed from the App Store and blocked from alternative distribution channels.
- Apple says it will enforce the changes by removing offending apps, terminating developer accounts when warranted, and blocking banned apps from other distribution routes to limit tactic-driven reappearances.
- The updates follow investigations and local orders earlier this year that exposed dozens of 'nudify' and bait-and-switch apps and will push UGC and AI app makers to add content filters, reporting tools, and remediation plans or risk removal.