iOS 18.2 Lets Children Report Nudity in iMessages, Starting in Australia

Starting with iOS 18.2, children in Australia have a new option to report iMessages containing nude photos and videos to Apple, the company told The Guardian. Apple said it will review these reports and could take action, such as by disabling the sender's Apple Account and/or reporting the incident to law enforcement.

iOS 18 2 Communication Safety Report Feature
The report outlined what these reports will include:

The device will prepare a report containing the images or videos, as well as messages sent immediately before and after the image or video. It will include the contact information from both accounts, and users can fill out a form describing what happened.

The feature comes after Australia introduced new rules that will require tech companies like Apple to take stronger measures to combat child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on their platforms by the end of 2024, according to the report.

Apple said it plans to make this feature available globally in the future, according to the report, but no timeframe was provided.

This is an extension of Apple's existing Communication Safety feature for iMessage, which launched in the U.S. with iOS 15.2 in 2021. With the release of iOS 17 last year, Apple expanded the feature worldwide and enabled it by default for children who are under the age of 13, signed in to their Apple Account, and part of a Family Sharing group.

Communication Safety is designed to warn children when they receive or send iMessages containing nudity, and Apple ensures that the feature relies entirely on on-device processing as a privacy protection. The feature also applies to AirDrop content, FaceTime video messages, and Contact Posters in the Phone app. Parents can turn off the feature on their child's device in the Settings app under Screen Time if they wish to.

The nudity reporting option comes after Apple in 2022 abandoned its controversial plans to detect known CSAM stored in iCloud Photos.

The first iOS 18.2 beta was released yesterday for devices with Apple Intelligence support, including iPhone 15 Pro models and all iPhone 16 models. The software update is expected to be widely released to the public in December.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
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Top Rated Comments

antiprotest Avatar
15 weeks ago
But there is no way to report someone for not sending nudes, even after they promised. ?‍♂
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jjdodders Avatar
15 weeks ago
Nobody is a parent anymore. Just adults with pet children. Maybe stop giving your kids access to the internet before they're old enough?! Actually PARENT your children. The child should be telling their parents so they can go to the police. Why are we deferring that responsibility to a Tech Corporation!?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MegaBlue Avatar
15 weeks ago

Won't it be better for Apple to use Apple Intelligence to figure out the image, check for nudity, and block it?
This is already done. On-device intelligence has been identifying this for child accounts since 15.2.

What’s added is now the child can actually submit a report to Apple.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheDailyApple Avatar
15 weeks ago
Nice, hope this makes creeps think twice before harassing others.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clayj Avatar
15 weeks ago

Won't it be better for Apple to use Apple Intelligence to figure out the image, check for nudity, and block it?
Perhaps, but that's a complicated situation. Do we want to be able to identify criminals and take them off the streets, or prevent SOME of the crimes they commit while allowing them to continue criminal activity with others (e.g., those who don't have iPhones)? Should Apple be in the business of referring text messages directly to law enforcement without the victim being involved in the process? How much invasion of privacy is acceptable? What happens when a system starts interfering with legitimate messages (e.g., two consenting adults trading nudie pics with each other)?

These are just a few of the questions that have been raised in the past. I do agree that building in a reporting function is a good idea.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SigurTom Avatar
15 weeks ago
How about letting ADULTS report nudity in imessages?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)