problems with last apple security update

Problems with last apple security update update#

The images are detected on-device, which Apple says protects privacy. The system doesn’t report anything to Apple moderators or other parties. Children will see a caption warning that their parents will receive the notification, and the parents won’t see the actual message. If a user taps through that warning and they’re under 13, Messages will be able to notify a parent that they’ve done it.

Problems with last apple security update update#

The update - coming to accounts set up as families in iCloud on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey - also includes an additional option. A screenshot of Apple’s Messages filter for sexually explicit content. (Apple says it’s not technically limited to nudity but that a nudity filter is a fair description.) If the classifier detects this content, it obscures the picture in question and asks the user whether they really want to view or send it. If parents opt in, devices with users under 18 will scan incoming and outgoing pictures with an image classifier trained on pornography, looking for “sexually explicit” content. What is Apple doing with Messages?Īpple is introducing a Messages feature that’s meant to protect children from inappropriate images. Critics say that same designs amounts to a security backdoor. Apple says it’s designed this feature specifically to protect user privacy while finding illegal content. The final new feature scans iCloud Photos images to find child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, and reports it to Apple moderators - who can pass it on to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCMEC. One of them adds a parental control option to Messages, obscuring sexually explicit pictures for users under 18 and sending parents an alert if a child 12 or under views or sends these pictures. The other updates, however, have generated far more backlash. That’s rolling out later this year on iOS 15, watchOS 8, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey, and it’s largely uncontroversial. If a user searches for topics related to child sexual abuse, Apple will direct them to resources for reporting it or getting help with an attraction to it. The first change affects Apple’s Search app and Siri.

What did Apple announce last week?Īpple has announced three changes that will roll out later this year - all related to curbing child sexual abuse but targeting different apps with different feature sets. And Apple’s response has highlighted just how complicated - and sometimes downright confounding - the conversation really is. But critics say Apple’s strategy could weaken users’ control over their own phones, leaving them reliant on Apple’s promise that it won’t abuse its power. In theory, the idea is pretty simple: Apple wants to fight child sexual abuse, and it’s taking more steps to find and stop it. The debate stems from an announcement Apple made on Thursday. For the past week, though, Apple has been fighting accusations that its upcoming iOS and iPadOS release will weaken user privacy.

The company has promoted encrypted messaging across its ecosystem, encouraged limits on how mobile apps can gather data, and fought law enforcement agencies looking for user records.