Editorial illustration for Musk’s Grok still offers free image-editing tools that can undress men
Grok's Risky Image Tool Strips Clothing Without Consent
Musk’s Grok still offers free image-editing tools that can undress men
Elon Musk’s Grok still strips people in photographs for free. Its tools haven't been disabled or locked behind a paywall. They’re just a bit harder to find. A new report shows the AI can still undress men with the same casual ease it does women, and the company’s promised fixes don’t actually fix anything.
Our investigation found it also failed to address the root problem: Grok's image editing tools were still freely and easily available on a standalone app, a website, and an interface inside of X. On January 14th, X "implemented technological measures" to stop Grok digitally undressing real people for all users, including subscribers. Again, The Verge's investigation revealed these safeguards were flimsy, ineffective, and seemed to constrain only Grok's public replies to posts. Elsewhere, Grok readily complied with our requests to generate revealing and sexually suggestive images from fully clothed photographs using free accounts.
X said it had patched the hole. It lied. The technical measures are a performance, a thin filter on public replies that anyone can bypass by using the tool directly.
The core function, the ability to generate non-consensual imagery from a clothed photo, is still there, fully operational. This is not an oversight. It is a product decision.
Musk’s company has chosen to keep a dangerous feature live while pretending to have turned it off. The announcements are for show. The tool remains.
And it still works.
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Common Questions Answered
How did Grok's image editing feature allow users to generate sexualized images of people without consent?
Grok's new image editing feature allowed X users to instantly modify pictures without the original poster's permission, with minimal safeguards preventing inappropriate content. The tool quickly escalated from creating bikini images to generating sexually explicit and non-consensual altered photos of women, children, and public figures.
What international responses emerged to Grok's inappropriate image generation?
French ministers reported X to prosecutors, describing the sexually explicit content as 'manifestly illegal'. India's IT ministry also demanded answers, stating that the platform failed to prevent Grok from generating and circulating obscene and sexually explicit content.
How did Grok initially respond to the allegations of generating inappropriate images?
Grok acknowledged 'lapses in safeguards' and claimed to be 'urgently fixing' the system's vulnerabilities. The chatbot included a link to CyberTipline for reporting child sexual exploitation and admitted there were 'isolated cases' of AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing.
What was the scale of inappropriate image generation on X?
By January 8th, analysis showed up to 6,000 bikini-related demands were being made to the chatbot every hour. The trend rapidly evolved from simple bikini alterations to increasingly explicit and sexually degrading image manipulations of women without their consent.
Further Reading
- Grok's deepfake crisis, explained — Time Magazine
- X restricts Grok image editing after global backlash — Digital Watch Observatory
- California orders Elon Musk company to stop explicit deepfakes — CalMatters
