New Delhi, March,15,2026: Deepfake attacks in India have surged sharply, according to a new 2026 report by technology firm Pi-Labs. The study warns that the rapid spread of AI-generated manipulation is increasingly targeting women and contributing to rising cybercrime complaints.
The report highlights a major increase in deepfake content in recent years, with incidents rising by nearly 900 percent. Researchers say the misuse of generative artificial intelligence is creating a growing digital deception problem across the country.
According to the study, more than 90 percent of explicit deepfake content circulating online targets women. These manipulated materials often involve non-consensual sexual imagery, image morphing, and identity manipulation using publicly available photos and videos.
The findings also show that thousands of digital tools capable of creating deepfakes are now easily accessible to the public. The report estimates that over 5,000 face-swap applications and more than 1,000 voice-cloning tools are currently available online.
As the technology becomes more widespread, organisations are also facing increased risk. Around 65 percent of Indian organisations reported experiencing deepfake-related attacks in 2026, according to the report.
The rise of deepfake misuse is reflected in official cybercrime data. Complaints involving women increased significantly in recent years. Government records show that such complaints rose from about 50,000 in 2024 to nearly 80,000 by 2026, representing a 60 percent increase within two years.
The report advises individuals to limit the amount of high-quality personal images and audio clips available publicly online. These materials can be used as training data for artificial intelligence systems that generate manipulated media.
Researchers also recommend stricter social media privacy settings. Controlling account visibility can help prevent automated bots and data scrapers from collecting personal information that could later be used to create synthetic images or audio.
The study describes the situation as a growing digital deception challenge as AI technology becomes easier to access and more powerful. Experts say greater awareness and stronger personal data protection measures are necessary to reduce the misuse of deepfake tools.
The findings are based on the 2026 report titled AI-driven deepfake abuse in India released by Pi-Labs.
