iPhone feature that blurs nude photos in Messages app now rolling out globally
India Today
The Communication Safety feature, when enabled, will blur nudity in photos exchanged in the Messages app.
Apple is finally rolling out Community Safety in Messages to more markets. Launched in the US last December, the feature that prevents unsolicited sharing and viewing of nude and explicit photos in the Messages app will now be available in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. This is an opt-in feature that can be set up by parents on their kids’ iPhones to curb their exposure to nudity.
According to the Guardian, Apple has announced that the Community Safety feature is coming to iPhones in the UK soon. Besides, AppleInsider has reported the feature is also coming to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. There is, however, no information about other markets for now, but considering this feature is meant for the safety of kids, Apple is likely to bring it to nearly all its markets.
The Communication Safety feature, when enabled, will blur nudity in photos exchanged in the Messages app. Apple will show warnings to their kids when they try to open a photo that contains explicit content or naked people. The warning reads: “This photo could be sensitive. Are you sure you want to view?” Following this message, there are three ways Apple explains what naked photos mean and why they may not be suitable for kids.
Interestingly, this is just a warning and kids can override it by simply tapping on “I’m Sure” — which is one of the two answers to the question Apple asks as the warning. So, parents need to be more vigilant about their kids' smartphone activities. Kids below 13 years are, however, prompted by the Messages app to contact their parents or guardians. This is how Apple describes the Communication Safety feature: “The Messages app includes tools to warn children when receiving or sending photos that contain nudity. These features are not enabled by default. If parents opt in, these warnings will be turned on for the child accounts in their Family Sharing plan.”
In addition to preventing kids from exposure, the feature also warns kids when they try to send a photo with nudity. In both cases, kids get the option to message someone they trust for help. Apple says all of the processing happens on-device with the help of machine learning and the content remains end-to-end encrypted. This means neither Apple nor any third party can read the contents except for the people with access to the iPhones used for the exchange.
Parents can set up Communication Safety on their kids' iPhones by navigating to the Screen Time feature, which needs to be mandatorily turned on for the safety feature to work. This feature requires iOS 15.2 or later, iPadOS 15.2 or later, or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later, and is available to child accounts signed in with their Apple ID and part of a Family Sharing group.
