Apple has strengthened its App Store review guidelines, introducing clearer restrictions on AI-generated abusive content, deceptive app functionality and software linked to exploitation. The changes come as regulators and child-safety advocates increase pressure on app marketplaces to prevent harmful applications from reaching users.

Under the revised rules, apps that use artificial intelligence to generate offensive content may be removed. Apple is also targeting so-called bait-and-switch tactics, in which developers present an app as harmless during review before activating prohibited features after approval.

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Stronger Safeguards For User-Generated Content

Apps hosting user-generated content must include systems to filter objectionable material, allow users to report offensive content and provide tools for blocking abusive accounts. Apple says developers are responsible for moderating the content distributed through their platforms, not simply hosting it.

“Apps that host user-generated content are required to filter objectionable material, give users a way to report offensive content, and let users block abusive accounts,” Apple said in a blog post.

The company also prohibits hidden or undocumented features, including apps that conceal their purpose during review before introducing harmful capabilities such as “nudification”. Applications that add features not included in the version submitted for review may also be removed, closing a potential loophole for developers seeking to bypass oversight.

Enforcement Targets Exploitation And Fraud

Apple has reinforced its prohibition on apps that promote human trafficking or child exploitation, strengthening the language of its existing rules. The changes reflect growing expectations that technology platforms should act decisively when harmful content or functionality appears in their ecosystems.

Last year, Apple said its review process prevented more than 150,000 apps from reaching users and terminated 193,000 developer accounts for fraud and abuse. The figures illustrate the scale of the challenge facing a marketplace that processes millions of app submissions and updates.

Regulatory Pressure On App Marketplaces Grows

The updated guidelines follow mounting scrutiny of apps that generate non-consensual sexualised images. In July, San Francisco ordered Apple and Google to remove nudification apps from their respective stores, with City Attorney David Chiu accusing the companies of profiting from them through app store fees.

Earlier, a Tech Transparency Project report published in April found multiple nudification apps across both ecosystems, including some rated as suitable for minors.

Apple’s revised rules signal a tougher approach to harmful AI applications and deceptive design. As regulators and safety advocates intensify their scrutiny, the company is seeking to make clear that concealing functionality during review or using AI to generate abusive content can lead to removal from the App Store.