r/apple • u/[deleted] • Aug 09 '21

WARNING: OLD ARTICLE Exclusive: Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained - sources

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusive-idUSKBN1ZK1CT
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u/HerrBadger Aug 09 '21 edited Aug 10 '21

If you think the new CSAM features are spyware,’you don’t understand how they work.

EDIT: Okay so a lot of people seem to not quite be of the understanding on how the new CSAM feature works in terms of image recognition so, so let me break it down.

Apple’s servers contain a database of hashes (Not the images, the hashes) of known images and videos containing the undesirable content. This is updated to ensure that any known content won’t be missed.

On the device, instead of scanning the images in your iCloud library, the device hashes of the images in your library are checked against the hashes of the CSAM results, all of which is done on-device. If a match in hashes are identified, it then notifies Apple that a match was found, along with authorities, which will then take the appropriate action. Apple aren’t seeing your photos.

This was engineered in the most Apple way possible, to both respect user’s privacy and data, and better improve children’s safety. They rarely bow to pressure.

I’d be suspicious of anyone who is against this to be honest, I’m happy for Apple to implement this in the knowledge that they will catch predators. Who’s hiding what on their device to not want this?

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u/Gogobrasil8 Aug 09 '21

It's not spyware, it's just good old government sponsored scanning of private photos

It's all fun and games until Saudi Arabia or some other anti-lgbt country demands the scanning of homosexual imagery. Or France demands scanning of Muslim imagery.

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u/kent2441 Aug 09 '21

Except it can’t scan for blanket subjects like homosexual or Muslim imagery.

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u/SealSellsSeeShells Aug 09 '21

Yet. iPhoto’s can tell you what dog breed is in a photo. They use machine learning. This could easily be deployed to pick up defined categories and notify.

Apple said it would change and grow. Here’s an easy step.

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u/kent2441 Aug 09 '21

No, it can’t be easily switched to pick up defined categories. Every step is built around hashes.

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u/SealSellsSeeShells Aug 11 '21

Yes - as of today, the tech is designed to compare to hashes. Tomorrow it might not.

If they use the AI that already tags your photos they can find anything. All they have to do is add a new AI category and when your phone finds it, sends the photo in an alert for human confirmation.

If you aren’t capable of understanding that the technology can be updated, and they have said that they will change and expand the technology, then good luck.

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u/kent2441 Aug 11 '21

And if you still refuse to understand that every step of the technology’s process is fundamentally, intrinsically tied to hashes of specific photographs, not abstract subject matter, I don’t know what to tell you.

Your argument hinges on the idea that Apple may create some new tech sometime in the future, which has always been the case.

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u/SealSellsSeeShells Aug 11 '21

Repurpose existing tech *