Apple is launching the feature to block unwanted explicit photos on iMessage for children’s accounts

Apple announced just a few months ago that it will implement a new capability in the iMessage application, which could protect users from unsolicited pornography. This is “communication safety in Messages”, which can analyze photos and video chips sent through iMessage and block them if inappropriate images are discovered. This feature may be especially useful for protecting children from such content.

Apple will protect children from explicit photos on iMessage

After a trial period in the US, the new capability in the Messages app on the iPhone will be activated in a few other countries, and will soon be available worldwide. These countries are the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and users are assured that photos are not uploaded to the cloud and are not analyzed by Apple employees.

Messages in iMessage are encrypted, and AI processing for photo recognition is done on the device. Apple uses the neural processor in the chips on the iPhone, iPad or Mac to analyze the frames. This happens very quickly as soon as the message is received, being able to hide its contents before it is displayed among the messages.

If an explicit photo is detected, for example, a message appears telling you what you want to do. You can ignore the warning and see the image anyway, you can see it, or, in the case of children’s accounts, a message may appear asking for adult help. Of course, there is also the option to block that contact or phone number.

However, this function is not mandatory. Its activation is done from the settings of the Family Sharing system, for those who have such accounts connected. The main function is to protect children from such content, but it could also save adults from headaches in cases of abuse or online harassment through the Apple service. This capability is not the one that scans iCloud photos of child pornography users. Those capabilities have been delayed and will be released later.

source: The Verge