Apple is reportedly expanding one of its child safety features to six more countries very soon.
As reported by iCulture, Apple’s Communication safety in Messages feature will be expanding to users in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil. So far, the feature has only been launched in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
According to the report, the feature will be rolling out to users in all six new countries “in the coming weeks.” The outlet says that it was informed of the rollout by Apple itself at a media briefing held earlier today.
Here’s what Communication Safety does
Originally released in iOS 15.2, which was released back in January 2022, Communication Safety in Messages will warn children if they send or receive a photo that contains nudity when using the Messages app.
As explained by Apple, “when receiving this type of content, the photo will be blurred and the child will be warned, presented with helpful resources, and reassured it is okay if they do not want to view this photo. Similar protections are available if a child attempts to send photos that contain nudity. In both cases, children are given the option to message someone they trust for help if they choose.”
Apple says that “Messages analyzes image attachments and determines if a photo contains nudity, while maintaining the end-to-end encryption of the messages. The feature is designed so that no indication of the detection of nudity ever leaves the device.” As with anything the company does lately with privacy, it ensures that “Apple does not get access to the messages, and no notifications are sent to the parent or anyone else.”
Apple provides more information about its child safety features on its Child Safety (opens in new tab) webpage. The feature works in Apple’s Messages app across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.