Isophoric News · Sunday, October 18, 2026
Apple updates App Store rules on nonconsensual imagery and bait-and-switch apps
Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines to require apps to proactively prevent and remove nonconsensual intimate imagery, including imagery generated with AI tools, the company said Friday in a developer news post. Developers who fail to put adequate safeguards in place, or do not fix violations after notice, risk removal from the App Store, Apple said; pornographic material, including apps that generate sexually explicit images of real people without their consent, was already prohibited. A new guideline, 2.5.19, says apps that misrepresent what they do during review and add features after approval can be removed from the App Store and the Apple Developer Program, and Apple cites "nudification" apps as an example of that tactic. Apple also updated Section 5 to say apps that facilitate human trafficking or child exploitation will be removed and blocked from alternative distribution, and said it prevented more than 150,000 apps with safety issues from reaching customers last year.
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