Apple to launch nudity detection fеаture internationally

Apple will soon roll out its Communication Safety feature in the United Kingdom, the Guardian reports. Users in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are also expected to receive it, reports The Verge. The option, once enabled by a parent, will perform scans in Messages in an effort to filter out potential nudity.

This is only part of the enhanced set of child protection features that Apple intended to introduce in iOS 15. And while the expanded guidance option met little resistance, the set of measures was met with no shortage of controversy. Concerns over the privacy of Apple users have delayed the implementation of the latter feature оutside of the US, but its international release is on the horizon - the United Kingdom will be just one of the first of many countries on the line.

Nevertheless, the final version of Communication Safety is quite more tame than the one Apple initially envisioned. Originally, parents were supposed to get notifications if their children were to receive messages containing nudity.

Instead now Communication Safety simply blurs the content of the message if it detects any instance of nudity. Children will also be given a warning and will be referred to resources supplied by child safety groups.

Most importantly, the feature works both ways. If nudity is detected in a photo that a child is intending to send, a number of protections also step in. The child is discouraged from sending it and an option to call an adult is presented to them.

Apple has gone the extra mile in ensuring that the highest degree of privacy protection is maintained. All image processing takes place on the device, with Apple having virtually no information on neither the analysis itself, nor its outcome.

Therefore, privacy concerns regarding Communication Safety in its current form seem somewhat misplaced. For all their faults, even the most vocal Apple critic cannot deny the fact that they take their customers’ privacy very seriously. From end-to-end encryption to location fuzzing, the company has consistently upholded their commitment to protecting the data of their clients. Apple certainly knows how to keep a secret - in comparison to other tech giants, that is.