Apple Highlights iPhone's Privacy Features in Short Film Starring 'Ted Lasso' Actor

[cupcakes2000]

They had already built it. That is creepy enough. They really built a technology that did not scan files in the iCloud (which would not work, as the files are encrypted), but on the user's devices. And they even wanted to inform authorities, if they found something. Imagine your plumber is actively searching your whole home for child porn and reports it to the authorities if he finds any.

Apple does not really understand the concept of privacy, if it comes up with stuff like that. Searching people's devices is like searching people's homes. Usually those devices have mich more private information than the rest of the home combined. That's why it also is quite problematic that US authorities sometimes want to check the private notebooks of foreign travellers. That simply is none of their business.

Some information even is more private that a nude photo for example. We prefer not to be nude amongst others, because they could see something that we want to keep private. However we basically know how a nude person looks. We would not learn a lot of new stuff if we see somebody nude. If we get access to his phone or notebook though, we learn more about that person than even his friends and family know. Digital information is extremely private. It is like an extension of your own brain where you store things that you do not want to forget. So getting access to that information against a person's will is much worse than secretly taking nude photos of her. Those devices should be safe spaces.

Apple says that the system can't be used for other things than detecting child porn, but of cause that is not true. You can create hash values for any kind of photos. The problem is that in the US authorities can force companies to help them. If that happens, those authorities usually issue a gag order. That means that the company executives - even Tim Cook - would face a long jail time, if they ever talk about that request. That's why we should treat any US company as an extension of law enforcement. Especially the large ones like Meta, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft.

I don’t think I said I liked it.. did I? But the fact you suggest it might secretly be in there makes me wonder why you use closed source things in the first place. If you can’t see what’s in it, then you must trust whomever provided it. If you don’t trust them, then why use it at all? Seems you just wanted to say your piece, and that’s fine. But the things that apple says they do, when comparing them to what their closed sourced peers say they do, well … there is a vast difference. I’m sure that should you wish to place your trust in a mainstream company for your os’ and your systems, there isn’t a better alternative.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I don’t think I said I liked it.. did I? But the fact you suggest it might secretly be in there makes me wonder why you use closed source things in the first place. If you can’t see what’s in it, then you must trust whomever provided it. If you don’t trust them, then why use it at all? Seems you just wanted to say your piece, and that’s fine. But the things that apple says they do, when comparing them to what their closed sourced peers say they do, well … there is a vast difference. I’m sure that should you wish to place your trust in a mainstream company for your os’ and your systems, there isn’t a better alternative.

Exactly. There is zero evidence they are using the iCloud scanning stuff at this point. In fact, they said they are explicitly not doing it.

Their competitors are actively doing so and not hiding it. So if we go by what each company says it is openly doing, Apple is the clear choice.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Exactly. There is zero evidence they are using the iCloud scanning stuff at this point. In fact, they said they are explicitly not doing it.

Their competitors are actively doing so and not hiding it. So if we go by what each company says it is openly doing, Apple is the clear choice.

I’m glad that they now offer e2e encrypted iCloud. It’s very cool. I have always used Cryptomator vaults for my documents folders and stuff, so my private data has never been accessible. But this change alone should be a massive boon for apple in the privacy segment.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I’m glad that they now offer e2e encrypted iCloud. It’s very cool. I have always used Cryptomator vaults for my documents folders and stuff, so my private data has never been accessible. But this change alone should be a massive boon for apple in the privacy segment.

Cryptomator is good stuff. I have used it myself.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I don't think that some posters understand what changed here. CSAM is dead. In fact, if you enable Advanced Data Protection, then Apple can't run CSAM in the cloud. Your photos are end-to-end encrypted if you enable ADP. This means that even if they ran CSAM on your local device (which they aren't, but even if they did), it would send a message to someone on high. This someone at Apple would then be able to do nothing. Because it is e2ee.

Good points, but with two caveats. One is that even though no one at Apple would be able to see the actual content of the offending file, merely reporting it to the authorities might earn you an early morning visit from the men in black, who might seize your phone and have you unlock it, then use it as evidence against you.
The second caveat is that Apple being totally unable to decrypt your data isn't a hard fact, but just an assertion. We don't actually know if their E2E encryption has a back door or not. In fact, I would wager that it most likely does have one in China, since all of the iCloud stuff over there is handled by a Chinese third party with links to the government. Sure, it can be argued that China is an exception, and for the time being it indeed is, but a precedent has been set.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Good points, but with two caveats. One is that even though no one at Apple would be able to see the actual content of the offending file, merely reporting it to the authorities might earn you an early morning visit from the men in black, who might seize your phone and have you unlock it, then use it as evidence against you.
The second caveat is that Apple being totally unable to decrypt your data isn't a hard fact, but just an assertion. We don't actually know if their E2E encryption has a back door or not. In fact, I would wager that it most likely does have one in China, since all of the iCloud stuff over there is handled by a Chinese third party with links to the government. Sure, it can be argued that China is an exception, and for the time being it indeed is, but a precedent has been set.

The China stuff is completely separate and is not evidence of the "back door" that you are claiming. Apple specifically said they do not have one and in fact the user is SOL if they forget everything. China hasn't been addressed yet, but has a completely different set of servers and APD isn't there yet anyway.

The other stuff, again, matters not at all since they stopped CSAM anyway (as stated above).

Again, they are the only main tech company to do this. Google searches Google Drive; Microsoft searches Onedrive. Heck Dropbox even scans your files there..

How Dropbox knows you're a dirty pirate, and why you shouldn't use cloud storage to share copyrighted files - ExtremeTech

Over the weekend, it emerged that Dropbox has the ability to stop you from publicly or privately sharing copyrighted content -- in other words, Dropbox has a system in place that prevents piracy. At first, this sounds rather sensible, but when you think about it some more, your assent slowly...

www.extremetech.com

So yeah, we have Apple might be doing these things (which you think. I do not think they are doing this), but other companies absolutely are.

 

[Vlad Soare]

So yeah, we have Apple might be doing these things (which you think. I do not think they are doing this)

No, I don't think they are. I do trust Apple and have no reason to doubt that their E2E encryption is as they say it is (at least outside China).
I'm merely pointing out that it's ultimately a matter of trust, rather than hard fact.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

No, I don't think they are. I do trust Apple and have no reason to doubt that their E2E encryption is as they say it is (at least outside China).
I'm merely pointing out that it's ultimately a matter of trust, rather than hard fact.

I mean, I guess? There is a reason that everything involving China is on a separater server farm inside China.

As far as the matter of trust, that is true. We are taking their word for it for now, but like I said previously, they are the only major vendor even saying they are encrypted to this degree. Everyone else admits they scan you.