Apple announced new protection features for children this summer. Now, in the second preview of iOS 15.2, one of these features has been activated in the iMessage area.
iOS 15.2 and Co. are available for download as Beta 2 for registered developers ready. There is also something new. One of these protection functions for children, "Communication Safety", was already discovered in the first beta of iOS 15.2 - but the feature was not activated. Now changes the whole thing.
“Communication security” briefly explained
But what exactly is this so-called "communications safety"? For those who have lost track, here's the explanation again. The feature focuses on increasing the safety of children communicating online via Apple's iMessage. For example, the iMessage app will display warnings for children and parents when they receive or send sexually explicit images. When a child receives a sensitive image, it will automatically be blurred and the child will be presented with helpful resources. Apple has also built in a mechanism that lets children know that a message will be sent to their parents if they do view the image (for children under 13). The system uses machine learning on the device to analyze images and determine whether they are sexually explicit. It is designed so that Apple does not receive a copy of the image.
iOS 15.2: Apple makes adjustments to “communication security”
Although the feature is not enabled by default, parents or guardians can turn on the messaging feature for child accounts with Family Sharing. But there is a change. Unlike the previously planned version of the feature, parents will not be notified when the system detects that a message contains nude images. Apple justifies this with concerns that a parental notification could pose a risk to a child, including threats of physical violence or abuse.
According to Apple, the warning will never leave a device. In addition, the end-to-end encryption of iMessages remains unaffected. It is important to note that this is an opt-in feature that is only included in the current beta version of iOS, meaning it is not currently publicly available. It is currently unknown whether it will be made available with the final version of iOS 15.2. It also remains unclear whether the whole thing will only be available in the US or other countries as well. Do you already know the early Black Friday deals on Amazon? Stop by, there are dozens of bargains to be found. (Photo by oasisamuel / Bigstockphoto)
