As Domestic Violence Awareness Month comes to a close this week, one University of Florida researcher is examining the roots of nudification apps, online platforms that use AI to turn images of clothed people—easily and convincingly—into nude images.

“There’s a strong link between nonconsensual intimate imagery and domestic violence,” said Kevin R. B. Butler.

There have been legislative and legal responses to the creation and distribution of these images, which are more correctly known as synthetic nonconsensual intimate imagery, or SNCII. In the United States, the TAKE IT DOWN Act was passed in 2025, criminalizing the creation and distribution of such imagery and making it easier to remove once posted.