Apple tightens App Store rules against hidden features and AI deepfakes

According to the new requirements, software authors are required to prevent the appearance and remove artificially generated intimate photos of real people. For non-compliance with these norms, software will be excluded from the catalog. Earlier, the Grok chat-bot from xAI faced similar warnings, and its developers implemented protective filters after a threat of blocking.

The regulations also included a separate clause 2.5.19, which prohibits applications from having hidden or undocumented capabilities. Software creators are prohibited from presenting a project as one service during moderation, and after publication, opening different functionality - the so-called "bait-and-switch" scheme.

For implementing hidden functions after moderation or hiding them from reviewers, Apple will remove programs from the App Store and completely exclude developers from the Apple Developer Program. In addition, the company has extended the ban on software that promotes human trafficking and child exploitation to third-party app stores.