Undress Apps That Shut Down and Why
A dated record of closures, injunctions and bans in this category, what forced each one, and what a closure means for people who paid or uploaded photos.
An undress-app shutdown is usually the result of one of four forces: public lawsuits, platform enforcement, data-protection orders and new statutes. Between June 2019 and August 2026 we count at least 11 sites forced offline in one lawsuit alone and two statutory bans. Nothing here is an endorsement; consent rules are in our Responsible AI policy.
Which closures matter most, and when did they happen?
The category has a short but dense enforcement history. The first well-known tool was withdrawn by its own developer; everything after 2024 was forced by courts, regulators or platforms. Dates are those in the primary sources linked below; where only a news date exists we say so.
| Date | Event | Force behind it |
|---|---|---|
| June 27, 2019 | The “DeepNude” desktop program is pulled by its anonymous developer after a traffic surge and public backlash | Voluntary withdrawal |
| Aug 15, 2024 | San Francisco City Attorney sues operators of 16 of the most-visited clothing-removal sites (People v. Sol Ecom et al., CGC-24-617237) | Public civil lawsuit |
| March 2025 | Amended complaint names additional operators in Estonia, the UK and elsewhere | Same lawsuit |
| May 30, 2025 | Court approves a stipulated judgment: one operator accepts a permanent injunction and $100,000 in penalties | Settlement |
| June 2, 2025 | City reports 10 targeted sites offline or blocked in California; later 11 | Same lawsuit |
| June 12, 2025 | Meta sues a Hong Kong developer that ran over 87,000 ads for a clothing-removal app | Platform lawsuit |
| Oct 3, 2025 | Italy’s data-protection authority orders an immediate stop to processing Italian users’ data by the operator of an app using the “ClothOff” name (not affiliated with this site) | Regulator order |
| Oct 16, 2025 | Jane Doe v. AI/Robotics Venture Strategy 3 Ltd., D.N.J. 2:25-cv-16671, filed against the same operator | Private lawsuit |
| Apr 29, 2026 | UK Crime and Policing Act receives Royal Assent, criminalizing making or supplying “nudification tools” | Statute |
| May 20, 2026 | FTC sends warning letters to 12 clothing-removal websites lacking a removal process | Federal enforcement |
| July 17, 2026 | San Francisco sends cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google over 13 apps; Apple removes 3, Google suspends 5 | Public enforcement |
| Aug 1, 2026 | Minnesota ban on allowing access to such tools takes effect | Statute |
We do not link to any of the services named in these actions, and the timeline deliberately omits domain names. The San Francisco case is the single largest cause of closures so far; our “DeepNude” entry covers the 2019 origin and its many later clones.
Why did the San Francisco lawsuit work when others stalled?
The August 2024 complaint used California’s Unfair Competition Law alongside state and federal statutes on image-based abuse and child-exploitation material. That combination let the City Attorney seek injunctions and civil penalties without waiting for a criminal case.
As of June 2, 2025, 10 of the world’s most-visited websites generating nonconsensual deepfake pornography were offline or no longer accessible in California.
— San Francisco City Attorney press release, accessed Sep 3, 2026
By early 2026 the office reported 11 sites shut down, two settlements and expected default judgments against three operators who never appeared. The lesson for anyone comparing tools: a service that hides its operator and jurisdiction is exactly the profile these suits target, which is why our reviews record the registered entity and country when we can find them.
What did regulators and platforms add?
Three other levers closed doors that lawsuits could not reach quickly. Data-protection authorities can order a processing stop in days; Italy’s Garante did so on October 3, 2025 against a British Virgin Islands company operating under a name similar to this site’s, an action that illustrates why the site carries an anti-impersonation notice in its footer. Platforms can cut distribution: Meta’s June 2025 lawsuit targeted an advertiser that kept evading ad review, and app stores removed dozens of listings after research reports in 2024 and 2026. Finally, the FTC’s May 20, 2026 warning letters turned a missing removal form into a potential $53,088-per-violation liability. Background on the underlying laws is in our TAKE IT DOWN Act entry.
Which statutes now ban the tools outright?
Two 2026 laws changed the question from “was this image published?” to “may this tool exist at all?”. The UK’s Crime and Policing Act, given Royal Assent on April 29, 2026, criminalizes making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply nudification tools. Minnesota’s law, effective August 1, 2026, bars any service from allowing a user to access or use such a tool, with civil penalties up to $500,000 per unlawful access and damages up to three times actual loss. Both are described in our state deepfake laws entry and the category overview. Providers reviewed here increasingly block UK and Minnesota traffic; that behavior is now a compliance signal rather than a bug.
What happens to users when a tool closes?
Prepaid credits are the first casualty. Every reviewed tool sells one-time packs or subscriptions with no-refund terms, and Wavespeed states outright that credits are non-refundable. Uploaded photos are the second concern: a tool that kept an account library may hand data to a court, an administrator or a buyer. Send a written erasure request as soon as a closure is announced, keep the confirmation, and follow the steps in how to get an image removed. In our catalog, a closed tool keeps its review with a dated closure note, loses its sponsored link, and is listed in the transparency report, so the rankings reflect what is actually reachable.
Sources and verification
Primary sources checked for this article. Service facts come from the linked editorial reviews and their dated test notes.
- San Francisco City Attorney — 10 websites shut down, stipulated judgment (June 2, 2025) — accessed Sep 3, 2026
- Meta Newsroom — lawsuit against a clothing-removal app advertiser (June 12, 2025) — accessed Sep 3, 2026
- Garante per la protezione dei dati personali — urgent order of October 3, 2025 — accessed Sep 3, 2026
- Jane Doe v. AI/Robotics Venture Strategy 3 Ltd., D.N.J. — complaint (Oct 16, 2025) — accessed Sep 3, 2026
- GOV.UK — Crime and Policing Act 2026 collection — accessed Sep 3, 2026
- FTC — warning letters to 12 websites (May 20, 2026) — accessed Sep 3, 2026
- Minnesota House — New law bans access to nudification technology — accessed Sep 3, 2026
This article is editorial research, not legal advice. Laws change; statutes and agency pages were checked on September 3, 2026. For a specific situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Consent and reporting
Related reading
“DeepNude” explained
How the 2019 program worked, why it was withdrawn and how clones followed.
Read the entry →Nudification tools: category overview
Terminology, legal status by jurisdiction and how we classify tools.
Read the entry →Undress apps we tested
Only reachable, reviewed tools, with closure notes where relevant.
See the rankings →Are undress apps legal in the US?
Federal statute, state table and pending bills.
Read the article →Market overview: State of Undress Apps – Annual Editorial Report · Undress Apps Directory: 15 Reviewed Tools, Filters, Scores.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the first undress program shut down in 2019?
Its anonymous developer withdrew the desktop program on June 27, 2019, days after a traffic surge and wide criticism, saying the world was not ready for it. No court ordered the closure. Copies and clones spread anyway, which is why later enforcement targeted operators and payment channels rather than a single piece of software.
How many sites did the San Francisco lawsuit close?
By June 2, 2025 the City Attorney reported 10 of the 16 targeted sites offline or blocked in California, and by early 2026 the count was 11, with two settlements including a $100,000 penalty and a permanent injunction. Several operators never appeared in court, so default judgments were expected against at least three.
Can I get my money back if an undress app closes?
Rarely. Reviewed tools sell one-time credit packs or subscriptions under no-refund terms, and card chargebacks are only possible within the card network’s window, usually 120 days. Crypto payments cannot be reversed. Buying the smallest pack, as our billing guide advises, limits the loss when a service disappears.
What happens to photos I uploaded to a closed service?
It depends on the provider’s retention policy, which is why our reviews score it. Some delete outputs within hours or days; others keep account libraries until you delete them. Send a written erasure request immediately, keep the reply, and file platform notices for any published copies. Our retention comparison lists each documented policy.
Are undress apps banned anywhere in the US?
Minnesota is the first state to bar services from allowing access to such tools, effective August 1, 2026, with civil penalties up to $500,000 per unlawful access. Other states criminalize publishing non-consensual results rather than the tool itself. Federal law follows the same publication model under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Is this site connected to any of the services in the timeline?
No. Clothoff AI is an independent editorial project that reviews third-party tools; it does not operate a generator, accept uploads or store images. An unrelated app that uses a similar name appears in the 2025 Italian order and the New Jersey lawsuit. The footer notice and our about page explain the distinction.