CSAM scanning is disabled but is it also gone from iOS code?

[adb1973]

I know Apple has withdrawn from the idea of CSAM scanning in iOS 15.
But did it also disappear from the released iOS code?

For me it would mean not upgrading to iOS 15 if an API or framework or whatever developers call it was still there to be used later on by whoever finds it first.

For the first time in years I decided to stay on the previous iOS (14).

(Is there a developer) Who knows?

 

[antiprotest]

It is only delayed. They will not cancel it. My guess is they will flip the switch within months.

And there is no telling when they will stop updating iOS 14 or if they continue updating it for a while, if they will add CSAM to it.

At this point, I think the decision is whether to stay with Apple rather than whether to stay with a particular iOS version.

 

[Shirasaki]

No. It’s still there, and after backlash apple will more than likely turn it on without notice. And iOS 14 is not safe either unless you are running iOS 14.3 or so.

 

[adb1973]

Can someone/a developer confirm this statement?

 

[Rigby]

I doubt there's functional CSAM scanning code in any published OS right now. The original announcement said it would come "later this year" even before the delay was announced. While a perceptual image hash function was found in iOS 14 (and MacOS Big Sur) it's not clear whether it was for CSAM scanning or other purposes (such as recognizing landmarks), and in any case it would only be one of several parts that make up the proposed system.

And no, Apple will not just "turn it on without notice".

 

[Jayson A]

Abandon Apple right now. It's all over. The feature is coming and every man, woman and child will be arrested if they own any sort of Apple device.

By the way, I'm also on iOS 14, but not because of CSAM, it's because iOS 15 in general is a train wreck and I'd rather not ruin my iPhone with that junk.

 

[ghanwani]

It's "unintentionally" scanning as we speak.

 

[adb1973]

I've thrown all my Apple devices in the bin and moved to the country. I'm currently typing this with a stone tablet.

I stick with the 'no functional code' from @Rigby unless there's someone smarter...