Major Platforms Routing Users to Cheap 'Nudify' Deepfake Services, Report Charges

A new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) alleges that YouTube and X are actively funneling users to “nudify” applications that generate nonconsensual explicit deepfakes, according to coverage from both Superintelligence News and Wired. These services, which create sexually explicit images of individuals without their consent, are reportedly available for as little as $1 per image, Wired noted.

2 sources

Superintelligence NewsYouTube and X Are Sending Millions of Users to Nudify Apps, Report SaysWiredReport: YouTube and X Direct Users to Nonconsensual Deepfake 'Nudify' Apps

"YouTube and X sent millions to nudify apps, exposing how mainstream platforms help spread nonconsensual explicit deepfakes."

The report analyzes the online ecosystem that enables the proliferation of these tools, highlighting how platforms’ guidelines against nonconsensual intimate images (NCII) are being circumvented through direct referrals and links, Wired reported. Despite policies meant to block such content, the ISD found that both YouTube and X are directing visitors to websites where anyone can strip clothing from photos of real people.

Wired emphasized that the findings reveal a troubling gap between platform rules and enforcement. The ISD report documents how social media companies’ recommendation algorithms and user-shared links effectively serve as entry points for these abusive services. Superintelligence News framed the discovery as evidence that mainstream platforms are playing a role in normalizing deepfake misuse at scale.

"These services are available for as little as $1 per image."

The low cost of generating such images underscores how accessible the technology has become, Wired reported, while the scale of referrals from YouTube and X suggests that millions of users are encountering these apps through everyday browsing rather than niche corners of the internet. The ISD report calls for stronger action from platforms to cut off referral traffic and enforce existing policies against nonconsensual intimate imagery.