A network of 400 apps has secret sexual deepfake tools

Researchers at AI Forensics and Infoblox found a network of more than 400 connected domains and apps. The apps tell that they are for pet photos, language study or workouts. But some users get a secret web page that makes sexual deepfake images and videos from photos of persons. Apple removed 19 apps, and Google removed most of the apps from Google Play.

How it works

When a user gets an app, the app sends the server a code and the language, and tells where the user is from. The server tells the app to show the clean version or the explicit version. One cause is possibly a download after a click on an ad on Meta platforms.

The numbers

• 27 of the apps were on Google Play in September, with more than 350,000 downloads together.
• At one time, the developers added about 30 new apps and websites each week.
• Apple tells that it stopped tens of thousands of apps that used this method in the last year.

What is not known

A company in Hong Kong, KeLing Technology Limited, possibly operates the network. The company gave no comment, and no person could find its connections to the tools after contact. Google gave no comment, and no person knows the cause that one user gets the explicit version.

Insight: The apps choose what each visitor sees

Each app tells its server who the user is, and the server selects the content. Apple tells that the apps were correct when it examined them, then they changed. A tool from Resemble AI identifies each website visitor as a person, a bot or an AI agent. The two sides identify each visitor, and one check does not show the step of the app after. Leaders must tell vendors to check after approval.