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Apple announced several new child protection features in August to help keep children safer online. One of these features, "Communications Safety," appears to be included in the iOS 15.2 beta, according to reports.
As the US blog MacRumors reported, references to the "Communication Safety" feature were discovered in the iOS 15.2 code. Strictly speaking, the code for the function is supposedly there. However, whether the feature is enabled remains unclear for now.
“Communication security” briefly explained
But what exactly is this so-called "communication security"? For those who aren't familiar with it, here's the explanation again. The feature concentrated focused on increasing the safety of children communicating online using 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 to let children know that a message will be sent to their parents if they do view the image (for children under 13). The system uses on-device machine learning 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 Beta: Parents must enable feature
In addition, the code in iOS 15.2 includes some of the language that children will see when the system issues a warning. There are specific language for both children under 13 and children over 13, as the feature sets different behaviors for each age group. As mentioned above, parents will not be notified if a child over 13 views a nude photo. However, if a child under 13 does, parents will be notified automatically. All of these communication safety features must be enabled by parents and are available through Family Sharing, so this is an opt-in process that is only available for child accounts.
Which countries are taken into account?
As a reminder, in addition to Communications Safety, Apple also announced a new CSAM initiative, which will scan photos for child sexual abuse material. This has sparked considerable discussion and criticism, leading Apple to postpone the launch of these parental control features. Originally, the feature was scheduled to be rolled out in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey in the US. Currently, there's no indication that the CSAM feature will be included in the iOS 15.2 beta. Therefore, it's possible that Apple will first introduce "Communications Safety" before implementing the full range of child safety features. It also remains to be seen whether it will initially be available only in the US or in other countries as well. (Photo by oasisamuel / Bigstockphoto)
