YouTube and X directing millions to deepfake nudify apps
A study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that YouTube and X directed millions of users to AI deepfake 'nudify' apps that create non-consensual intimate images between December 2025 and March 2026. Videos on both platforms reviewed and promoted these tools and provided links and promo codes, despite platform policies against sexually explicit content.
What happened
A report published by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue on July 13, 2026, found that social media platforms YouTube and X directed more than 5.7 million visits to nudify app websites between December 2025 and March 2026.
YouTube was responsible for approximately 1.82 million visits (over 30 per cent of referral traffic), while X accounted for more than 1.3 million visits. Researchers searching for keywords such as 'undress app' and 'nudify app' found videos that reviewed and promoted specific nudify apps, included links to the apps, and contained promo codes offering free credits.
Reported impact
Nudify apps use generative AI to create non-consensual intimate images by making it appear that a person has been stripped of clothing. Some nudify apps and websites generate as much as $36 million in collective revenue annually.
Index analysis
The report challenges the assumption that nudify apps primarily spread through internet fringe platforms, showing instead that mainstream social media platforms are major discovery channels for these tools.
Governance controls
The researchers noted that the platforms' actions appear to be in direct conflict with YouTube's policies that ban sexually explicit content. Despite platform policies prohibiting non-consensual intimate imagery, such content remained easy to discover on both platforms.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.