Contacts at Apple reached out to let us know about major improvements to their nudity blurring feature that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has been asking for and advising Apple about since the feature was originally announced nearly two years ago. Beginning September 18, 2023, with the iOS17 update, images and videos containing nudity will be automatically blurred for kids 12 and under in iMessage, FaceTime, Air Drop, and Photos picker—a feature that previously had to be turned on by parents, was unavailable to anyone over 13, only detected still images, and only worked in iMessage. This tool will also be available for teens and adults as an opt-in feature. Additionally, Apple has already made their blurring technology available to other apps for free through API (application programming interface)! What this means is that apps accessed through iOS could apply the nudity blurring feature to their platform. You can read our press release on Apple’s changes for more details!
*While not a focus of the DDL, NCOSE is deeply concerned and disappointed that Apple does not scan for child sex abuse material (CSAM). We’ve been pressing on Apple for years to do so, most recently together with a coalition of child safety experts.
With almost 90% of US teens owning an iPhone, Apple can rightly be called a primary “gatekeeper” to what America’s children are accessing online…as well as who is accessing them. Caregivers trust and rely on Apple’s App Store age ratings and descriptions to determine what apps are safe and appropriate for their children to use. App age ratings also “trigger” several aspects of Apple’s parental controls (called Screen Time), blocking entire apps or content based on the designated age.
Yet at a time when child safety experts and mental health professionals – including the United States Surgeon General – are sounding the alarm that our kids are in crisis due in large part to social media, Apple’s app descriptions remain vague, hidden, and inconsistent: further jeopardizing our already-at-risk children.
