Hyderabad: Artificial Intelligence (AI) apps with hidden sexual and violent deepfake tools have made their way into Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, bypassing their review processes. An investigation by WIRED found that more than 400 such apps were developed by a single Chinese organisation. The findings raise serious questions about how well the world's biggest tech giants check the apps they host. 

WIRED says that these apps let users upload photos and create sexual or violent deepfakes. Such images can be used to shame and threaten victims, and anyone's photo could be misused this way. 

Good at hiding themselves

The apps stayed online because they were good at dodging safety checks and hiding what they could really do. Surprisingly, some had been available for about a year and had passed reviews at Apple, Google, and Meta, even though all three companies have clear rules against deepfake content.

Some reports say the developers used a "bait-and-switch" trick to pass app reviews. Initially, the apps showed ordinary content, and the hidden feature was switched on later. On Meta's platforms, tapping an ad for a deepfake service and downloading the app was one of the ways the process began.

Once inside, users could reach dozens of templates for explicit photos and videos, and could also purchase credits to create deepfakes using their uploaded photos.

The existence of these apps was discovered when Meta recently tightened its defences against deepfake content. The company says it has acted against more than 10,000 advertising accounts linked to the domains behind the apps.

Chinese link

Reports say the main thread joining all these domains appears to be their Chinese developers, whose identities were deliberately hidden. Apps and domains in the network often used generic privacy policies, free Gmail and Outlook email addresses and vague developer names. These are believed to be efforts to hide the connections between them.

Reports name Keling Technology as a key force behind the activity. Its own website is little more than a shell, but its name appeared in the contact details of the first website registered in the network. 

The name is also believed to have shown up in the contact details of the explicit deepfake templates used in the apps. According to reports, Meta banned Keling Technology Limited from advertising in 2025 after it failed to comply with a cease-and-desist letter. 

Not the first time 

This is not the first time Apple and Google have failed to remove apps that support nudification from their app stores. Earlier this year, a report from Tech Transparency Project (TTP) noted that both app stores hosted dozens of apps capable of digitally removing clothes from women and converting their normal photos into sexualised images without consent. 

The report stated that several apps could turn women completely nude, while others put bikinis or underwear on them. In total, 55 apps were found on the Google Play Store and 47 on the Apple App Store.