Apple is expanding its Communication Safety feature to help protect adults from unsolicited nudes sent via iMessage. The feature will also expand to cover video content and other communication methods.
Communication Safety, for those unfamiliar with it, is an iOS feature intended to protect children from seeing nude images sent through iMessage. It uses on-device machine learning to detect and blur nude images. During its WWDC event, Apple announced that Communication Safety would expand in iOS 17 to protect children from viewing or sharing photos containing nudity via AirDrop, the upcoming Contact Posters feature, FaceTime messages and when looking for images in their photo library using Photo Picker.
Moreover, Communication Safety will cover video content as well as still images, though it’s unclear if this will cover live video content like video calls.
Image credit: Apple
As for adults, iOS 17 will gain a ‘Sensitive Content Warning’ that will warn users if an image or video they receive contains nudity. iOS will flag the content in a pop-up message and ask users if they wish to view it anyway.
Beyond the changes, Communication Safety will continue to work as it currently does. It’s an opt-in feature in Apple’s Family Sharing system — when turned on, it will detect if images with nudity are sent or received. iOS will then warn the child and blur the image before they can see it. The warning includes reassurance that it’s not the child’s fault and offers options to get help, such as messaging a trusted adult for support.
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Source: Apple
