Apple Child Safety Features

In iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Apple has introduced Sensitive Content Warnings to prevent unsolicited nude photos and similar content coming through to your iPhone or iPad. Here's how to enable the feature. With Sensitive Content Warnings enabled in iOS 17, incoming files, videos, and images are scanned on-device and blocked if they contain nudity. The opt-in blurring can be applied to images in...

With the introduction of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Apple turned on Communication Safety, an opt-in feature that warns children when sending or receiving photos that contain nudity. It is enabled by default for children under the age of 13 who are signed in with an Apple ID and part of a Family Sharing group, but parents can also enable it for older teens as well. Communication Safety first...

Apple employees are now joining the choir of individuals raising concerns over Apple's plans to scan iPhone users' photo libraries for CSAM or child sexual abuse material, reportedly speaking out internally about how the technology could be used to scan users' photos for other types of content, according to a report from Reuters. According to Reuters, an unspecified number of Apple employees ...

Last week, Apple previewed new child safety features that it said will be coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with software updates later this year. The company said the features will be available in the U.S. only at launch. A refresher on Apple's new child safety features from our previous coverage:First, an optional Communication Safety feature in the Messages app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac...

Apple's Head of Privacy, Erik Neuenschwander, has responded to some of users' concerns around the company's plans for new child safety features that will scan messages and Photos libraries, in an interview with TechCrunch. When asked why Apple is only choosing to implement child safety features that scan for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), Neuenschwander explained that Apple has "now got ...

Amid the ongoing controversy around Apple's plans to implement new child safety features that would involve scanning messages and users' photos libraries, Facebook's former security chief, Alex Stamos, has weighed into the debate with criticisms of multiple parties involved and suggestions for the future. In an extensive Twitter thread, Stamos said that there are "no easy answers" in the...

Apple today held a questions-and-answers session with reporters regarding its new child safety features, and during the briefing, Apple confirmed that it would be open to expanding the features to third-party apps in the future. As a refresher, Apple unveiled three new child safety features coming to future versions of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and/or watchOS 8. Apple's New Child ...

Apple has published a FAQ titled "Expanded Protections for Children" which aims to allay users' privacy concerns about the new CSAM detection in iCloud Photos and communication safety for Messages features that the company announced last week. "Since we announced these features, many stakeholders including privacy organizations and child safety organizations have expressed their support of...

Apple this week announced that, starting later this year with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, the company will be able to detect known Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) images stored in iCloud Photos, enabling Apple to report these instances to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a non-profit organization that works in collaboration with law enforcement agencies across the United...

Apple's plans to scan users' iCloud Photos library against a database of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to look for matches and childrens' messages for explicit content has come under fire from privacy whistleblower Edward Snowden and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). In a series of tweets, the prominent privacy campaigner and whistleblower Edward Snowden highlighted concerns...

Apple today announced that iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 will see the introduction of a new method for detecting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on iPhones and iPads in the United States. User devices will download an unreadable database of known CSAM image hashes and will do an on-device comparison to the user's own photos, flagging them for known CSAM material before they're uploaded to iCloud...

Apple today announced that with the launch of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, it will begin scanning iCloud Photos in the U.S. to look for known Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), with plans to report the findings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Prior to when Apple detailed its plans, news of the CSAM initiative leaked, and security researchers have already begun...

Apple today previewed new child safety features that will be coming to its platforms with software updates later this year. The company said the features will be available in the U.S. only at launch and will be expanded to other regions over time. Communication Safety First, the Messages app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will be getting a new Communication Safety feature to warn children...