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Apple introduced a new communications security feature in the United States last year. The aim is to protect children from potentially harmful images. This is specifically about nude images that the local system recognizes on the device. Again mirror reported that the optional child protection function is now available for the beta versions of iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura in Germany and France.
Photo Credit: Apple
Communication security for children
The safety feature in the Messages app on iPhone, iPad and Mac is designed to warn children when they receive or send nude photos. When the feature is enabled, Apple says the Messages app will use on-device machine learning to analyze image attachments. If a photo is rated appropriately, the photo will automatically be blurred. In addition, the child is warned if they still want to look at the picture. In addition, in such cases, the messaging app recommends that the child contact a trusted adult to ask for help.
Verification of photos is carried out on the device. “The Messages app analyzes image attachments and determines if a photo contains nudity while preserving the end-to-end encryption of the messages,” Apple said in a statement. “The feature is designed so that no indication of nudity detection ever leaves the device. Apple doesn’t get access to the messages.”
Finally, what falls under the category of “nudity” is not precisely defined in Apple’s description of the feature. In autumn 2021 there was still talk of “explicitly sexual photos” that trigger Apple’s new security function. When asked by Spiegel, Apple explained that the visibility of genitals can be enough to trigger the safety alerts.
When Apple announced the feature, it also said the system would alert parents when a child accepts or sends a tagged message. That has since changed, too, with Apple stating, “Notifications will be sent to parents or anyone else.”
Communication security is optional and turned off by default. It can only be enabled on iCloud accounts set up for children.