Apple has updated its App Store rules against non-consensual sexual images and apps that change their purpose after review. The developer announcement dated October 16 also clearly counts images produced with artificial intelligence tools among its content moderation obligations. The statement, which comes after examples of abuse on the App Store, crystallizes the responsibility of developers to prevent and remove harmful content. The company also emphasizes that the ban on pornographic content has already been in effect for a long time.
Section 1.2 of the update covers the rules for user-created content. Apple identifies non-consensual intimate images, including those generated by AI, as among the content that apps must actively prevent and remove. Developers who do not provide adequate protection or do not remediate the breach after notification risk being removed from the store.
Current review rules consider social media and user content platforms, as well as content creation applications with artificial intelligence, within the same framework. These apps must filter out inappropriate content, provide users with a way to notify users, and offer the ability to block abusive accounts. Developers are also required to publish accessible contact information.
This distinction doesn’t just look at what the app’s store description says. What the user can produce, share or see from someone else within the application is also important. Apple also evaluates user content in the application of a web-based service within the scope of the rules. Therefore, the fact that the content comes from another system does not automatically eliminate the developer’s control responsibility within the application.
Apple also aims to unlock hidden functions after review
Provision 2.5.19 clarifies that the app provides one function during review and opens other features after approval. Apple is restating its existing ban against applications that subsequently enable harmful capabilities that were not present in the version submitted for review. The company states that when it detects this behavior, it may remove the application from the App Store and the developer from the Apple Developer Program.
For developers, the new text requires both content control and the features offered for review to meet real use. A complaint button visible to the user alone does not cover the entire liability. The rules also require timely response to incoming notifications and removal of violating content. Severe or repeated violations may go beyond the temporary correction process and lead directly to removal from the store.
Apple also updated section 5 to more clearly explain the existing ban on content that facilitates human trafficking or exploitation of children. The company says it will remove apps carrying such content from the store and block alternative distribution. Thus, the disclosure reveals a broader framework of review and deployment than the treatment of a single AI application.