Apple’s “Communication Safety in Messages” feature, designed to automatically blur images containing nudity sent to children using the company’s messaging service, is now rolling out in other countries. After launching in the US last year, the feature is now available in the Messages app on iOS, iPadOS and macOS for users in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.The exact time is not known, but protector The feature is reportedly coming to the UK “soon”.
The scanning happens on the device and does not affect the end-to-end encryption of messages. Instructions on how to enable integration with Apple’s existing Home Sharing system can be found here.
The opt-in feature scans incoming and outgoing images for “pornographic” material to protect children. If found, the image will be blurred and provide guidance to seek help, while guaranteeing it is ok not to look at the image and leave the conversation “You are not alone, it is always available from someone you trust or a trained professional help,” read the pop-up message. “You can also block this person.”
Messages to adults about images are optional
Similar to the first launch in the U.S., kids can choose to send information about tagged photos to adults they trust. When Apple originally announced the feature last August, it hinted that this notification would happen automatically.Critics are quick to point out that this approach is risky outing strange kids to their parents or they might be abused.
Apple is also expanding new features for Spotlight, Siri and Safari search that will point users to safe resources if they search for topics related to child sexual abuse.
In addition to these two child safety features, Apple originally announced a third program last August that involved scanning child sexual abuse material (CSAM) before uploading photos to users’ iCloud accounts. However, the feature has drawn backlash from privacy advocates, who say it could introduce a backdoor that could compromise the security of Apple users. The company later announced that it would delay the rollout of all three features while the issues were fixed. After releasing the first two features, Apple has yet to provide an update on when the more controversial CSAM detection feature will be available.
