Teenagers in the United States are able to easily access and download artificial intelligence applications designed to generate nonconsensual nude imagery despite parental control systems set up by Apple and Google, according to an investigation reported by The Guardian — World.
The findings, published by the research group Tech Transparency Project, showed that test accounts set up to mimic 13-year-old users were able to download 135 different applications equipped with features capable of producing sexually explicit, nonconsensual content.
Investigation Details Gaps in App Store Protections
Researchers evaluated the digital storefronts operated by Apple and Google to determine whether standard age-restriction settings and parental safety features effectively blocked access to automated image-manipulation tools. Despite existing content filters, the test accounts successfully retrieved dozens of artificial intelligence tools that promote or facilitate digital undressing.
The findings highlight ongoing vulnerabilities in how app ecosystems monitor and categorize generative artificial intelligence software. While platforms maintain policies prohibiting the distribution of sexually explicit material and nonconsensual imagery, the Tech Transparency Project discovered that software capable of executing these edits remains widely available to minors through standard app searches.
Impact on Minors and Communities
The real-world implications of these accessible tools were illustrated in December 2025, when Morgan Dorfman learned that a student at her daughter’s high school in Pennsylvania was generating artificial intelligence-based pornographic material depicting her daughter. The student had utilized an AI image-editing application to create the nonconsensual images, underscoring the immediate distress and harm these tools can inflict within school environments.
Advocacy groups and digital safety researchers continue to scrutinize technology companies over the effectiveness of their age verification mechanisms. The findings from the Tech Transparency Project point to persistent enforcement gaps, leaving underage users able to install software that poses direct risks to the privacy and safety of their peers.
