Meta sued the manufacturer of Crush AI, a popular AI “Nudify” app. In addition to the lawsuit, Meta says it is taking new steps to crack down on other apps like Crash AI.
In the lawsuit filed in Hong Kong, Meta suspected Joy's Timeline HK, the entity behind Crash AI, and attempted to circumvent the company's review process to distribute ads for the AI Nudify service. In a blog post, Meta said that the ads were repeatedly removed by the entity to violate the policy, but claims that Joy Timeline HK continued to place additional ads anyway.
According to the author of Alexios Mantzarlis of Faked Up Newsletter, in the first two weeks of 2025, Crush AI, which uses generated AI to form fake sexually explicit images of real people, without consent, for the “AI desorbent” service on Meta's platform. In a January report, Mantzarlis claimed that Crush AI websites received around 90% of their traffic from Facebook or Instagram, and that they flagged some of these websites in the meta.
Crush AI reportedly circumvented the meta ad review process by setting up dozens of advertiser accounts and frequently changing domain names. According to Mantzarlis, many of the Crush AI advertiser accounts were later named “Eraser Annyone's Clothes” and were named different numbers. At one point, Crush Ai even had a Facebook page promoting the service.
Facebook and Instagram are not the only platforms to address these challenges. As social media companies like X and Meta compete to add generated AI to their apps, they also struggle to ease the way AI tools make the platform unsafe for users, especially minors.
Researchers reportedly saw a surge in links to AI undressing apps on platforms like X and Reddit in 2024, and millions of people were reportedly offered ads for such apps on YouTube. In response to this growing problem, Meta and Tiktok have banned keyword searches on the AI Nudify app, but getting these services from the platform has proven to be totally challenging.
In a blog post, Meta said she has developed new technology to specifically identify AI Nudify or undressing ads “even if the ads themselves don't contain nude.” The company said it is currently using matching technology to help you find and remove copycat ads more quickly, expanding the list of terms, phrases and emojis flagged by the system.
Meta said it is applying tactics traditionally used to destroy networks of bad actors to these new accounts running ads for the AI Nudify service. Since its launch in 2025, it has disrupted four separate networks that promote these services, according to Meta.
Outside the app, the company said it will begin sharing information about the AI Nudify app through Tech Coalition's Lantern program. Meta says it has provided over 3,800 unique URLs on the network since March.
On the legislative front, Mehta said he “continues to support laws that allow parents to oversee and approve downloads for teenagers.” The company previously said it had supported the US Take It Down Act and is currently working with lawmakers to implement it.