One of the benefits to modern day messenger systems is that you can send all types of media files, like photos and videos. Of course, this also means that sexually explicit content can also be sent, which is fine if it’s between two consenting adults, but what about those that are unsolicited?
What if a stranger got ahold of your child’s phone number and started to send them unsolicited adult materials? If your child is using an iPhone and uses its Messages app, Apple has actually announced new safety features that will help prevent these things from happening.
This will come in the form of on-device machine learning where it will analyze image attachments in Messages to determine if it might be a sensitive photo. If it does detect that, the photo will be blurred and a warning will be attached. Parents will also be notified if the child views it. It also works the other way, where if it detects your child sending sensitive content, it will warn them first and parents will also get a notification.
This feature won’t be arriving just yet as it is expected to be part of the iOS 15 update. It will also only work on devices with accounts setup as Families in iCloud.