Apple Releases Beta Version Of IOS 15.2 With Additional Child Safety Features

Apple introduces child safety features in iOS 15.2 (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA – Apple has released the second beta version of iOS 15.2, and introduced a child safety feature that blurs explicit images in the Messages app by scanning incoming and outgoing images.

Apple announced the feature earlier this year as part of its “Extended Protection for Children” goal, which aims to protect young children using Apple's devices and services.

The company initially announced that potentially dangerous photos would be blurred and an on-screen warning would appear about the dangers of opening the image. It will also be accompanied by resources that can help children stay safe and avoid predatory behavior by bad actors. If a user tries to post such problematic content, there is a provision to warn parents after showing the warning first.

With the release of iOS 15.2 Beta 2, Apple has finally released the feature after an initial delay due to privacy and security concerns. Apple claims that image scans are performed on the device using machine learning to determine whether the image being sent or received is malicious.

More importantly, Apple ensures that the feature does not gain access to Messages, thanks to the layer of encryption it has implemented. However, privacy and cybersecurity advocates have previously warned that the scanning technology goes against the privacy principles first advertised by Apple and that it will set a precedent for more intrusive behavior in the future.

Another area of concern is how the feature is designed. When a problematic image is received in Messages, it will blur and opening it will alert parents. A similar parental warning will be triggered when a user tries to send a sensitive image.

However, child safety experts and others warn against this warning, arguing that all guardians do not always have the best interests of the child in mind in all cases, and this warning could actually end up doing more harm than good in exposing children to abusive parents or guardians.

CNET reports that Apple has changed how the alert system works for its child security features in Messages. Apple will now let children decide if they want their parents to receive a security warning after receiving an image it deems to be sensitive.

The prompt mentioned above will differ from the example where the user chose to delete the problematic image rather than view it. The child safety feature has arrived as part of the beta update, which suggests that Apple is still testing the feature.

In addition, the UI may look different and some aspects may also change if, and when, is widely released. To recall, Apple had to postpone plans for scanning iCloud photos following protests from experts and how it opened the "door" to surveillance behavior on Apple's ecosystem of devices and services.