Hundreds of Ordinary-Looking AI Apps Hid Abusive Deepfake Features, WIRED Finds
Apps sold as pet portraits and photo editors linked to a network of 400+ domains offering "nudify" tools. Apple, Google and Meta removed many after WIRED's inquiries.
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Hundreds of AI apps and websites presented as harmless photo tools, from pet-portrait makers to image editors, were quietly connected to a network that offered abusive "nudify" deepfake features, according to a WIRED investigation published November 2.
Photo: JESHOOTS-com / Pixabay
WIRED reports that the network spans more than 400 domains and apps. One researcher counted almost 500 domains. After WIRED contacted them, Apple, Google and Meta removed apps, ads or accounts.
The findings at a glance
| Item | What WIRED reported |
|---|---|
| Size of network | 400+ domains and apps; Infoblox's Le Touz counted almost 500 domains |
| Timeline | Appeared from late 2025, spiked in spring; about 30 new apps or sites a week at one point |
| Google Play | 27 apps live in September, 350,000+ downloads, many rated for all ages |
| Apple | Removed 19 apps |
| Meta | Counted 3,000+ ads; acted on 11,600 ad accounts and blocked 209 apps from advertising |
| Linked company | KeLing Technology Limited, registered in Hong Kong |
How the apps hid the feature
The apps looked mundane in app stores. One example WIRED cites, Viefur, was marketed as a pet-portrait app and sold about 130 in-app coins for around $4.
Paul Bouchaud, a researcher at the nonprofit AI Forensics, reverse-engineered several of the apps. According to WIRED, each download triggers a call to a server, which "replies whether or not to show the explicit or the non-explicit version." One trigger appears to be installing an app after clicking a linked ad on Meta's platforms.
"They don't expect enforcement to catch up, and so far it hasn't," Bouchaud told WIRED.
Apple described a bait-and-switch. Spokesperson Adam Dema told WIRED that "these apps complied with our rules when we reviewed them," and that "after approval, their developers changed the website" the apps pointed to. Apple said it suspended tens of thousands of bait-and-switch apps in the past year and recently updated its rules to further restrict "nudify" tools.
Google and Meta
One app, DiffAI, was created in December 2025 and passed 100,000 downloads. WIRED says it was removed shortly before Google was contacted. Google did not comment but had taken down most of the apps WIRED identified.
Meta had already banned KeLing Technology Limited from advertising in 2025 after sending it a cease-and-desist letter. After WIRED shared the list of domains, Meta said it found more than 3,000 related ads, about two-thirds of which had already been removed. It said it took action against 11,600 ad accounts, more than 4,700 business pages, 5,200 users and 15,000 pages, and blocked 209 apps from advertising.
WIRED reports that hundreds of the ads contained AI-generated child sexual abuse material. "These ads violate not just one, but several of Meta's policies," Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, told WIRED. She said tech companies need to answer where the apps' money goes and how their operators keep getting past moderation.
WIRED also links KeLing to Veyra AI, an image model announced in late September. Danish journalists reported on part of the same network in September.
Why it matters
Nudify apps are not new. What stands out here is the disguise: tools passed app-store review as ordinary photo apps, then changed what they offered. The ads reached people through mainstream platforms, and many of the apps were rated suitable for all ages. A one-time check can miss what an app loads later.
Many takedowns followed WIRED's inquiries.
What to watch
- New domains. Whether the network keeps registering new sites and apps at its spring pace.
- App-store rules. How Apple's updated rules on bait-and-switch apps are enforced, and whether Google explains its takedowns.
- Meta's ad systems. Whether banned advertisers keep returning through new accounts.
- Regulators. WIRED says the ads have already prompted investigations by regulators around the world.
More coverage is on our Artificial Intelligence hub.
How we reported this
This article is based on WIRED's investigation, which drew on research by AI Forensics and Infoblox and on responses from Apple, Google and Meta. The figures for apps, downloads, ads and accounts are as reported by WIRED and those companies; DailyMech did not test the apps or check the counts independently. We do not name or link the services that offered abusive features.
Published and fact-checked November 2, 2026.
Sources
- WIRED, Matt Burgess, "Hundreds of Mundane AI Apps Are Hiding Abusive Deepfake Features," Nov. 2, 2026: https://www.wired.com/story/hundreds-of-mundane-ai-apps-are-hiding-abusive-deepfake-features/
DailyMech used AI tools to help research and draft this article; it was fact-checked by our editors.