I am a long term Apple user and I really don’t find this, acceptable for a company that touts itself as “privacy oriented”. Although currently limited to the US, this is a gross invasion of privacy.
1 Like
Same, have a lot of apple devices at home, might have to rethink future purchases. They were obviously privacy focused for marketing and sales reasons, but it was in a right direction. But it all falls flat now.
This starts to look quite hypocritical right now.
r/apple in meltdown right now. Although, it’s mostly against apple for doing this(bit surprised by this)
This has far bigger implications. Right now it’s CSAM hashes as objectionable materials(rightfully so), who knows what gets categorised as objectionable next. I can imagine governments over the world are rubbing their hands with glee over this tool.
This could become a sort of an awkward work around for end to end encryption, make hashes of everything on device before it’s even encrypted or transmitted. This ‘maintains’ the e2e (although rendered useless) and gives governments, law enforcement etc a sort of back door into the content.
Attachments:
3 Likes
Wow. Thanks Apple. Much needed. Please tell your users in your ads too that you will be scanning their phones. For whatever pretext, any company that scans my phone will be out of the consideration set for my next phone purchase.
3 Likes
It might not be so bad if its hash based…
I mean just hashing your media files and sending out the hashes to the cloud is not an invasion of privacy, at least to my understanding.
These hashes only become of interest if Apple or law enforcement authorities already have the matching images with them to be able to generate the same hashes on their side and then match them up with the ones uploaded from the user’s device.
Of course these are cryptographic strength one way hashes meaning you can’t regenerate the actual media file from it.
I don’t know where the word scanning came up… maybe the news media writing clickbait article headlines as usual?
1 Like
Agreed on the concept of hashes, but this could become a very powerful tool for censorship - imagine if a govt. wants to stop some video or image from circulating online (say China and Tianmen Square for eg). Now they could simply do so with just a tool, making sure that no iPhones (and I’m expecting something similar to be in the works for Android as well, if not done via some backdoor method ready) will have the offending imagine/video.
The use of the tool in this particular issue is not a problem, the implications of this tool and its uses are.
6 Likes
The media is sensationalising it, as usual.
You are correct that original material can’t be recreated with just hashes.
Currently, they are using hashes from the FBI CSAM database and looking for matching hashes from user devices.
Basic details
More technical details
Edit- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZZ5erGSKgs
The issue isn’t about recreating content back from hashes, it’s about scanning user devices and what will be considered ‘objectionable’ in the future and start getting flagged.
‘Presumed guilty until proven innocent’
4 Likes
Yes of course any technology can be misused by authorities such as the cctv cameras scattered in public places along with facial recognition technology… in places like China and UK.
Already your spending and location data history is readily available to authorities to corelate with your identity via your SIM card tower location and credit card transaction location
1 Like
The issue is scanning devices indeed. I am not comfortable with anyone scanning my device, recreating files or not. I dont presume they will do more. This step itself is ridiculous. Then the state shouldo also scan everyone’s homes. Maybe they will find stashed cds or drugs. How is scanning a phone any different.
1 Like
As i have said over and over, guard your own privacy. Don’t fall into a trap of believing false marketing hype l.
Glad this came out and shattered the mirage of privacy that some fanboy believed was true.
Fanboys in shambles
Apple rolling out a mass Surveillance to the entire world…
** Apple has updated the wording around Photos on their privacy page.**
Apple has updated the wording around Photos on their privacy page.
** What’s been removed:**
Apple devices are designed so those memories don’t leave your hands until you share them.
Some services process photos in the
cloud, which gives them access to
your photos. But we designed
Photos to process your images right
there on your Mac, iPhone and iPad.
I’m curious as to why that change of wording, going by their previous explanation the first bit that’s been removed would still apply.
3 Likes
Apple rolling out a mass Surveillance to the entire world…
apple/comments/p0b3e6
Apple has updated the wording around Photos on their privacy page.
What’s been removed:
Apple devices are designed so those memories don’t leave your hands until you share them.
1 Like
Below might be relevant for folks who are concerned about privacy
Apple rolling out a mass Surveillance to the entire world…
Apple has updated the wording around Photos on their privacy page.
apple/comments/p0b3e6
What’s been removed:
Apple devices are designed so those memories don’t leave your hands until you share them.
Some services process photos in the
cloud, which gives them access to
your photos. But we designed
Photos to process your images right
there on your Mac, iPhone and iPad.
2 Likes
I don’t know why all think they were not doing it in the past, Only difference is now they’re telling us they will do it officially. Feel sorry for Apple fan boys one less thing to argue on. [emoji1787][emoji1787]
5 Likes
The moment we connect to internet, privacy vanishes. Doesn’t matter the device.
But you used to say along with others here that apple is sacrosanct and has never and will never violate their beloved users privacy… And so did apple.. They kept repeating the same line for 2 years… Which was accepted by gullible fans, now looks so hypocritical in hindsight… All their posters mocking Google for taking data outside the users phone
Now they and fans just wish that everyone forgets their fake hype around security. If only the world was so forgiving.
Are you an apple hater?. You seem to be spreading this hate in multiple threads on anything to apple.
2 Likes
Are you a normal user or do you want blind trust like a fanboy? What have I posted that is out of place? I am sure a genuine user would like to know about the privacy developments. After all if they bought an apple device by the false advertisements over last 2 years, I am sure they will be feeling cheated right about now
I don’t trust blindly and neither does a normal user. You are often posting negative things about apple and on a multiple threads.
I suggest you read the full details and not blindly trust some Reddit post. Apple is only comparing the hashes of the photo with the CSAM database hashes and you can’t generate full images with the hashes alone.
Also only if someone uploads multiple images matching CSAM hashes, Apple would decrypt the images for reporting
The issue is this is a slippery slope. Just because people don’t love apple like you doesn’t mean you are the only person who understand hashes in the world. It is now a years old technology nothing new.
Issue is not that apple will look at my photos. Who cares if any apple employee looks at my photos. Issue is once this is built in, the governments can and will force apple to flag for other areas as well. What if the chinese government finds opposition as the most hineous crime and asks apple to flag all users who have photos of opposition in gathering. What if they want all gunholders to be flagged.
The issue is apple can and will have the ability to scan all your photos, hash or otherwise. Nobody is saying identifying child abusers is not worth doing. The idea that apple is introducing a backdoor which can be used to invade users’ privacy by various government’s
5 Likes
You may
you may not have much photos and you don’t care if apple employee looks at your photos. most of us do and that’s not what apple is trying to do.
Google or apple for that matter has been scanning photos through AI to identify photos with the same face. Apple photos app and google photos app has this feature to search by face of the person. How is that acceptable whereas the CSAM detection is only comparing hashes to determine and flag for decryption?
at some point you have to trust that it won’t be misused and when it does you won’t even know about it unless whistle blowing happen, which is rare. So anything on internet whether encrypted or decrypted could be misused.
By your logic, you don’t care if an apple employee looks at your photos but it worries if the government does? Maybe you are having something illegal.
Google hasn’t been advertising privacy to sell devices for last 2 years. Apple has been doing that
3 Likes