Last year, “nudify” apps powered by artificial intelligence made headlines amid Silicon Valley’s AI boom, and the accessibility of open-source models as a result.
These apps attracted millions of online visits. Users simply uploaded photos of a person — mostly women — and using AI the app would portray how the individual would look like completely naked.
Such non-consensual NSFW apps have now made their way to Telegram: AI companies are operating bots to offer users services that virtually “undress” women using AI.
Telegram’s “nudify” bots
A search of key terms “undress”, “deepfake” and “nudify” on Telegram returns dozens of results of group chats or bots offering AI-powered undressing services.
One of them is a Telegram group called “Undress.app”, owned and run by the website Undress AI. The group has over 174,000 subscribers and users get free credits to trial the service.
Once a Telegram user joins the Undress.app group, they are be redirected to the “Undress AI Bot”. The bot describes itself as an assistant that “[removes] any unwanted clothing from images naturally”. Users are given five free credits and specific instructions on the best photos to upload.
Another Telegram bot, “Undresser Ai”, has over 2,600 subscribers. But the Undresser Ai bot is equipped with far more sophisticated features compared to Undress AI Bot. After uploading a photo, the user is able to customise the age, ethnicity, breast size, and photo angle of the end result.
Skilled users are also able to enter detailed prompts — similar to using ChatGPT — to describe the ideal AI-generated undressed woman. “Asian appearance, medium breasts, 25 years old, NSFW, ultra-detailed, skin pore 1:1, high detailed skin 1:2” was provided as a sample prompt template.
AI-powered deepfakes
Promotional ads and other visual assets for these bots exclusively depict softcore pornographic images of women. At the time of writing, the Telegram bots were still active and generating non-consensual, violating pornographic images of women for users.
Several of the bots also appear to operate in a structure akin to a pyramid referral scheme, offering free credits to those who invite others to join.
AI-powered undressing bots on Telegram are just the tip of the iceberg in the context of the proliferation of AI deepfakes online. Women in particular are targets of graphic AI-generated content, often without their consent or knowledge.
In Australia, a Tasmanian man was sentenced to jail in late March for possessing AI-generated child abuse material. It marked the first time Tasmanian police had tracked down and seized such material in the state.
Image: Aslanda/Anadolu via Getty Images
