Saeta Tech Ltd t/a PixVideo – AI Video Maker said the app could not in fact be used to remove women’s clothing from images without their consent.

Eight people complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the company’s paid-for YouTube app, seen in January 2026, which showed a side-by-side “before” and “after” comparison image of a young woman.

In the “before” image, a red scribble was overlaid over the woman’s midriff and appeared to originate from an animated cursor. In the “after” image, the area that had been covered by the red scribble now revealed the woman’s bare skin, including underneath her shorts.

Text across the bottom of the image stated “Erase anything” alongside a heart-eyes emoji. Underneath the image, text stated “PixVideo – AI Video Maker: Think it. Get it instantly. Free AI. No creative boundaries” and a button labelled “Install”.

The company told the ASA that the advert was “a failure in creative execution and oversight” rather than the promotion of a potentially illegal tool.

It insisted that the app’s terms “prohibited the creation of nude or sexually explicit content” and that it used “automated AI-based detection and blocking to prevent exposed or explicit imagery from being generated”.

The app “did not support, and was not designed to enable, the removal of clothing or the creation of nude imagery”, it said.

Saeta Tech told the ASA it had removed the ad and voluntarily suspended all advertising across all media platforms.

In a ruling published today, the ASA said: “Whilst we understood that the app did not permit users to create nude or sexually explicit content, we nonetheless considered that, by implying viewers could digitally remove a woman’s clothing and expose her body, the ad reduced the woman to a sexual object.

“Furthermore, because the ad implied that viewers could use an app to remove a woman’s clothing, we considered it condoned digitally altering and exposing women’s bodies without their consent.

“We welcomed Saeta Tech’s willingness to remove the ad. However, for the reasons above, we considered that the ad was irresponsible, included a harmful gender stereotype and was likely to cause serious offence.”

The advert was found to have breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 (social responsibility), 4.1 and 4.9 (harm and offence) and must not appear again in the form complained of.

“We told Saeta Tech Ltd t/a PixVideo – AI Video Maker to ensure that their ads were socially responsible and did not cause serious or widespread offence, including by featuring a harmful gender stereotype by objectifying and sexualising women,” the ASA said.