Research finds AI apps are being used to sexually exploit women and girls, including minors.
11/5/2025
An Australian group focused on preventing sexual violence against women and girls is calling for a worldwide ban on so-called “nudifying” apps and websites.
The apps, which are widely available online, use artificial intelligence (AI) to turn ordinary images of real people into sexually explicit material, including simulated sexual violence, and child exploitation content.
Advocacy organisation Collective Shout says it conducted its own research into 20 nudifying, deepfake, and virtual girlfriend apps, using its own AI-generated image of a non-existent woman.
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“We wanted to know what a teen boy could do with a smartphone and access to a photo of a female classmate,” Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper said.
“How difficult would it be to turn an ordinary image of a woman or girl into pornography? What, if any, barriers might prevent this?”
The group found that users could create disturbing content in a matter of seconds, with many of them being free.
Users can select clothing, poses, and the type of sexual content before posting images to public galleries and sharing them with others.
Collective Shout said many galleries contain images of underage girls.
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Some apps offer text prompts for AI generation that encourage themes of extreme sexual and physical assault, including making the subjects appear distressed or cry.
One platform included text prompts related to torture and animal abuse, the group said.
Several services tell users they own the copyright to generated images, encouraging them to use, trade, and sell them.
“Not only can men and boys perpetrate crimes of tech-facilitated sexual violence against women and girls, they can profit from doing so,” Roper said.
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Some apps even offer incentives for users to invite friends, including loyalty-style rewards based on purchases made by new sign-ups.
Many platforms provide limited functions for free before encouraging users to pay for more functions.
Collective Shout says it started tracking the disturbing apps and websites in 2019, and since then, their use has grown, prompting a call for a global ban.
Clock Ticking for Nudifying Apps
Australia is set to clamp down on nudifying AI capabilities.
In September, the Australian government vowed to ban AI tools that allow the creation of disturbing content.
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Communications Minister Anika Wells said the governments would use “every lever at our disposal” to tackle the issue.
“There is a place for AI and legitimate tracking technology in Australia, but there is no place for apps and technologies that are used solely to abuse, humiliate, and harm people, especially our children,” she said.
Also in September, the eSafety Commissioner launched enforcement action against a UK company offering nudifying “services” which were being used to create child exploitation material of Australian school children.
Data showed around 100,000 Australians were using the app every month.
A formal warning was issued to the company under the Online Safety Act.
The Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) Bill 2025 is before the Australian Parliament.
