The city of San Francisco has ordered Apple and Google to remove dozens of “nudification” apps (software programs that can digitally alter images to undress the people in them) from their app stores.

California law criminalizes any activity that “knowingly facilitates” or “recklessly aids or abets” the creation of non-consensual deepfake pornography. In 2025, California also passed a law allowing victims to bring civil actions against third-party facilitators of such material. The city says that despite these well-known regulations, both technology companies have continued to organize and make money from such programs.

“Apple and Google are profiting from apps that exploit women and girls by generating non-consensual intimate deepfakes,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch. “While companies cut ties with some problematic apps, Apple and Google have a responsibility to be proactive and vigilant to prevent sexual abuse.”

Letters sent to Google and Apple by Chiu’s office, which were seen by TechCrunch, note that the companies have “been on alert” for their role in “processing payments for illegal purchases for almost a year” but have nevertheless continued to do so.

According to the letters, both companies hosting these applications have been repeatedly warned. In January and again in April, the Tech Transparency Project issued reports and sent letters to both companies noting that there were “dozens of apps” within their app stores that were “selling NCII deepfake.” [non-consensual intimate images] in exchange for payments” processed by the companies.

TTP’s April report said Google and Apple had intentionally “steered” users toward these types of apps and called both companies “key participants in the spread of artificial intelligence tools that can turn real people into sexualized images.”

Additionally, Chiu told Wired that both companies had likely earned “millions of dollars in fees” from apps that offered such services.

The letters from Chiu’s office warn that Apple and Google could face civil penalties for violating the law and request that they contact the city within 28 days.

When contacted by TechCrunch for comment, an Apple spokesperson said that nudify apps were banned from appearing in its App Store, further noting: “We have removed three of the apps in question and are in the process of terminating their developer accounts from our program. We are in contact with four others that need to address policy violations or are at risk of being removed as well.”

A Google spokesperson stated that the five Play apps referenced in Chiu’s letter had been suspended from Google Play. “When violations are reported to us, we investigate and take swift action, which in the case of these apps has included suspending hundreds of infringing apps and restricting related search terms such as ‘nudify’ from our store,” the spokesperson added.

Deepfake porn has largely been a problem for female celebrities, although nude apps make it possible for anyone with a publicly available photo to be targeted.

Update July 17: This article has been updated to include statements from Google and Apple.