Hundreds of Mundane AI Apps Are Hiding Sexually Abusive Deepfake Features

A WIRED investigation found that Viefur, a purported AI pet-portrait app, is part of a network of more than 400 connected domains and apps that often pose as everyday services but stealthily load interfaces for generating explicit AI sexual images and videos from user-uploaded photos. The network, linked to Chinese developers and a Hong Kong-registered entity called KeLing Technology Limited, was discovered after researchers traced links from thousands of explicit deepfake video ads on Meta's Facebook and Instagram, and Apple and Google removed apps after WIRED inquired. Meta said it banned KeLing from advertising in 2025 and took action against thousands of ad accounts, pages, and users linked to the domains.