More than 400 connected apps and websites have been used to hide tools for making explicit AI-generated images and videos, a WIRED investigation found. The apps often presented themselves as ordinary services, including pet portrait makers and language tutors. Under certain conditions, they could instead load a hidden interface where users uploaded photos to place people in sexual scenes.
The interface included templates labeled with scenarios such as “bedroom rape” and “threatening knife.” WIRED found the apps promoted through explicit ads on Facebook and Instagram, sometimes linking directly to Apple’s or Google’s app stores. The ads and apps are part of a wider pattern: previous reporting by WIRED found Meta ads depicting AI-generated child sexual abuse material, including images of real children.
How did the apps conceal their purpose?
Researchers say the apps checked information such as a user’s location and language before deciding which version to show. Clicking an associated Meta ad appears to be one trigger for loading the explicit version. Security researcher Maël Le Touz of Infoblox identified almost 500 linked domains, many running the same code and referencing one another.
The apps appear to have started emerging toward the end of 2025, according to researcher Paul Bouchaud’s analysis. Around 30 were being registered each week at one point, and 27 were live on Google Play in September. The apps had more than 350,000 downloads combined, his research found. One app, DiffAI, had over 100,000 Play Store downloads before Google removed it shortly before WIRED contacted the company.
What did the platforms do?
Apple removed 19 apps, including the pet portrait app Viefur, after WIRED shared its findings. Apple spokesperson Adam Dema said developers changed the websites their apps loaded after approval, replacing approved content with pornography. Apple says it has suspended tens of thousands of apps over the past year for similar “bait-and-switch” tactics. Google had removed most of the apps before WIRED contacted it, but did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Researchers said the operation appeared to involve Chinese developers. WIRED found links to Hong Kong-registered KeLing Technology Limited, including contact details and website connections, but the company did not respond to requests for comment. Meta said it had banned KeLing from advertising in 2025 and later took action against accounts, pages and ads associated with the domains. WIRED reported that similar ads and apps were still appearing as its investigation concluded.
Why it matters
People who install an ordinary-looking app through an ad may encounter hidden tools that turn uploaded photos into explicit deepfakes. The investigation documents removals and enforcement, but also says similar ads and apps were still appearing as reporting ended; it does not establish how widely individual users encountered the hidden interface.
