17 October 2026 — Apple updated its App Review Guidelines on 16 October, adding section 2.5.19 to make concealed app features grounds for App Store removal and developer account termination, 9to5Mac reported. The update also names nonconsensual intimate imagery in the rules for apps that let users create or share content.
Key points
- Section 2.5.19 prohibits hidden, dormant and undocumented app features, including those concealed through code obfuscation.
- Section 1.2 now names nonconsensual intimate imagery among the challenges posed by apps that accept user-created content.
- Reports differ on the number of apps covered by a San Francisco removal order in July: eight or 13.
- Apple’s revised legal rules also provide for blocking certain removed apps from alternative distribution.
Section 2.5.19 puts developer accounts at risk
The new provision tells developers that an app’s functions must be apparent to users and to App Review. It prohibits hidden, dormant and undocumented features. Attempts to conceal undocumented functions in an app binary, including through code obfuscation, can result in the app’s removal from the App Store and termination of the developer’s account.
Apple already prohibited hidden functionality under section 2.3.1. The added section specifies a method of concealment and sets out consequences for the developer as well as the app. Apple described the practice it is targeting as presenting one purpose during review, then exposing harmful functions, including nudification, after approval.
In July, 9to5Mac found dozens of apps that appeared to be simple games or utilities but displayed betting platforms when opened from Brazilian IP addresses. Outside Brazil, the apps behaved as their listings described. Many were available to children.
That investigation concerned gambling apps rather than AI image generators. Both examples fall within the review practice addressed by section 2.5.19: an app can present one set of functions for assessment and make another available after approval. The revised rule applies to hidden functions generally, while the imagery language appears in a separate part of the guidelines.
Section 1.2 names nonconsensual imagery
Section 1.2 covers apps through which users can create, generate, upload or share content. Its revised wording includes nonconsensual intimate imagery alongside intellectual property infringement and anonymous bullying among the challenges posed by that content.
The update also says developers may violate Apple’s Developer Code of Conduct if they do not put appropriate safeguards in place or do not remedy violations after receiving notice.
In January, the Tech Transparency Project identified dozens of AI-powered nudify apps on the App Store. Its April follow-up found that App Store search suggestions and advertisements directed users towards such apps. Those findings concerned both the availability of the software and the routes by which users encountered it.
San Francisco orders and Apple’s Grok warning
San Francisco officials ordered Apple in July to remove eight apps capable of producing nonconsensual intimate imagery, 9to5Mac reported. The Tech Buzz reported that a San Francisco city attorney ordered the removal of 13 apps in July.
Grok, the AI chatbot associated with X, was used to generate nonconsensual sexualised images of women and minors. Lawmakers and advocacy groups called for Apple to remove X and Grok from the App Store. Apple confirmed it had told xAI privately that Grok faced possible App Store removal unless xAI dealt with the issue.
The Tech Buzz reported on 16 October that X and Grok remained in the App Store. It also reported that Apple had complied with the San Francisco removal order. The revised guidelines cover developers whose apps enable users to generate content and developers who conceal functions from App Review.
Section 5 extends removal beyond the App Store
Apple also revised section 5 of the guidelines, which covers legal requirements. Its wording says apps that facilitate human trafficking or the exploitation of children will be removed from the App Store and blocked from alternative distribution.
