Will you leave the Apple ecosystem because of CSAM?

[jonasen]

I wouldn't leave just because of this. It scans the files on your local device, but the files themselves are only accessible if you have an iCloud backup that Apple can read from. They can't get the files from your phone so...it is really a quite useless feature as anyone that is sick enough to have those kind of files would just not use iCloud for it.
And the scan itself are harmless in its current form. I guess the only danger is that a future version scans for something else that isn't public. It is a bit of step back for Apple's stance on privacy. But this itself doesn't make me abandon the platform.

 

[bd139]

I have left already. This was the final straw on a number of contributing factors however.

Firstly on the privacy front I cannot support an organisation who chooses to uses any algorithms to classify what I do as criminal activity or not. There’s enough material out there to point to what a monumentally bad idea this is from people’s Google accounts being shut down to their doors being kicked in to being locked up as political prisoners for decades. Most of these outcomes escalated from genuinely good intent. Even developing a mechanism to support this is a step too far.

Secondly I’ve had various friction and compatibility issues over the last few years which just don’t appear on other platforms. These are relatively niche concerns so I’m not going to detail them past having a stab and saying even Microsoft doesn’t break everyone’s third party apps and frameworks every windows release.

And thirdly the devices are not a positive impact on my attention to things I care about. Time is finite and throwing it on such things and distractions is a path to regrets.

I’ve moved to a basic Linux desktop now, the iPad has gone, the Apple Watch has been replaced with a Casio F91W and Garmin etrex 10, the homepods are gone, the MBA is gone. The only thing that remains is my iPhone which is being replaced by my Nikon F5 and Nokia dumbphone when I’ve migrated my MFA stuff over to Yubikeys.

The only thing I will miss is Apple Music.

 

[antiprotest]

It IS whining, what action are y’all doing to stop/voice you guys don’t like it? Are y’all selling your iPhones right this second? Most aren’t, are y’all making petitions? I haven’t seen a single post about one in here. it’s all bark in these posts and no bite. And yes I understand the implications of what it brings.

By your own standard you are just whining about us whining. What, are you going to hunt us down and stop us from posting here? No? Then you're just whining.

 

[Wanted797]

After watching Rene Richies 45 minute breakdown of CSAM. I am a lot more okay with it than I was.

Which is to say I’m still not okay with it.

However. Microsoft and Google are already doing this and they’re also doing in a less private way. So what other choice do I have?

At least Apples method is somewhat private.

I’m also in Australia so it doesn’t affect me anyway… yet.

 

[Wanted797]

After watching Rene Richies 45 minute breakdown of CSAM. I am a lot more okay with it than I was.

Which is to say I’m still not okay with it.

However. Microsoft and Google are already doing this and they’re also doing in a less private way. So what other choice do I have?

At least Apples method is somewhat private.

I’m also in Australia so it doesn’t affect me anyway… lol

 

[eltoslightfoot]

After watching Rene Richies 45 minute breakdown of CSAM. I am a lot more okay with it than I was.

Which is to say I’m still not okay with it.

However. Microsoft and Google are already doing this and they’re also doing in a less private way. So what other choice do I have?

At least Apples method is somewhat private.

I’m also in Australia so it doesn’t affect me anyway… lol

Microsoft is NOT doing this on the device. It is only doing it in the cloud. It is fundamentally different. Heck, we don't even really know that Google is doing anything of this sort directly on the device...but even if they are, then we are at a standstill, and I will choose the alternative.

I just bought a Surface Pro 7 after testing out my wife's SP5 for a few days. It works fine. As soon as the SP7 is set up, the m1 Macbook is going on Swappa. Then I will hand down my iPhone 11 Pro Max and get an android phone. I, personally, am out at that point. My wife will only have her iPhone SE. The kids? A different matter, but over time I will get them out. Goodbye Apple.

What really, really bothered me honestly was the condescension about the whole thing. Oh, that wasn't well received? It must be the message--surely not our pristine actions. You all simply don't understand.

Oh we understand and we reject your premise, sir.

 

[Jayson A]

I wouldn't leave just because of this. It scans the files on your local device, but the files themselves are only accessible if you have an iCloud backup that Apple can read from. They can't get the files from your phone so...it is really a quite useless feature as anyone that is sick enough to have those kind of files would just not use iCloud for it.
And the scan itself are harmless in its current form. I guess the only danger is that a future version scans for something else that isn't public. It is a bit of step back for Apple's stance on privacy. But this itself doesn't make me abandon the platform.

That's actually incorrect. It doesn't even scan anything until it's time to upload the photo. During the upload process, it creates a hash and sends a safety voucher along with the photo. Apple can only see the safety vouchers which doesn't tell them anything about the file. Once a threshold of 30 CSAM vouchers come through, then Apple can unlock those 30 photos only and view them.

 

[hagjohn]

to all those who say "all the other companies are doing it to".

 

[decafjava]

There are a lot of newbies posting on this thread - some of whom say they are staying but most who say they are leaving. 🤨

 

[singularity0993]

There are a lot of newbies posting on this thread - some of whom say they are staying but most who say they are leaving. 🤨

A Macrumors newbie isn't necessarily an Apple newbie or a tech newbie😏

 

[ericwn]

It IS whining, what action are y’all doing to stop/voice you guys don’t like it? Are y’all selling your iPhones right this second? Most aren’t, are y’all making petitions? I haven’t seen a single post about one in here. it’s all bark in these posts and no bite. And yes I understand the implications of what it brings.

It’s a forum and people come here to voice opinions. Calling that whining is a bit inventive. It will leave a mark both on apples reputation as well as on their user’s perception.

 

[tann]

It's irritating because I came back to iOS with the 12 after leaving around the iPhone 6 era.

I think I'll see how the next couple of years play out, but thankfully I have kept myself out of the Apple ecosystem in terms of most of the apps I use (avoid as much as I can not cross platform), so I could go back relatively easily to Android.

TBH the folding phones have come a long way too, keen to see what direction they go in.

 

[ericwn]

I’d rather take my 1 in a trillion chances of having 30 innocent photos examined by Apple than let any sicko get away with CSAM

Exactly. In the wise words of Jeremy Clarkson:
“What could possibly go wrong?”

 

[ericwn]

They most certainly have the right to check your content that you’re uploading to their server.

On device though, nope, not without opt-in.

 

[Jayson A]

Exactly. In the wise words of Jeremy Clarkson:
“What could possibly go wrong?”

I think I have a better chance at getting hit by a meteor than to get flagged by this system.

To put things into perspective (if you believe it), Apple ran 100 million photos through the system and only got 3 false positives. The chances of one single account having 30 false positives is so astronomically high that you may as well just say it will never happen, but it's technically possible.

 

[ericwn]

Anyone seriously saying yes has some real issues. I don't even know what is on your phones

Anyone who wants Apple to scan their local files on their devices has some serious issues too.

It’s true some people don’t care about privacy but that doesn’t mean others should play lemmings with them.

 

[Hans-Wurst]

There are a lot of newbies posting on this thread - some of whom say they are staying but most who say they are leaving. 🤨

I‘m a newbie. Until now there was no need for me to register. Nothing of huge importance happened in the apple world. This has changed now. I am still hoping that apple will change their plans and do not implement any type of scanning of private data. This why I‘ve registered, to vote on polls about this subject.
I‘ve already cancelled our family 200GB iCloud storage plan. Now I wait and observe what apple will do, if they still want people like me who care about privacy.

 

[Jayson A]

Anyone who wants Apple to scan their local files on their devices has some serious issues too.

It’s true some people don’t care about privacy but that doesn’t mean others should play lemmings with them.

My phone can scan all it wants. It's not going to find anything. If you're that worried about 1 in a trillion, turn off iCloud Photos.

 

[ericwn]

it is definitely not a back door.

Exactly. We’re at the point of calling it a feature.

 

[Jayson A]

Exactly. We’re at the point of calling it a feature.

It's as much of a back door as Siri is a back door because it transmits your recordings to Apple to process them. Who knows who's listening to them!

Yes, I know starting with iOS 15, Siri will be moving to on-device processing, but that's part of Apple's strive for more privacy.

 

[ericwn]

It’s literally the pedos who are scared

Ah what a great insight. Reminds me of GW Bush times when all of sudden you’re either “with us or with the terrorists “. That ignorant approach usually works out well…

 

[Jayson A]

Ah what a great insight. Reminds me of GW Bush times when all of sudden you’re either “with us or with the terrorists “. That ignorant approach usually works out well…

I choose to believe that pedos should be caught and punished for what they do. If that means that there's a 1 in a trillion chance of my photos being seen by Apple, then I think that's a risk worth taking. Have a good day.

 

[ericwn]

My phone can scan all it wants. It's not going to find anything. If you're that worried about 1 in a trillion, turn off iCloud Photos.

Today it’s data set A that gets scanned tomorrow Apple may decide to now scan other documents locally. But sure I always let strangers in my house if they promise to only scan multiple photos. Nothing could potentially go wrong in Apple land.

 

[ericwn]

I choose to believe that pedos should be caught and punished for what they do. If that means that there's a 1 in a trillion chance of my photos being seen by Apple, then I think that's a risk worth taking. Have a good day.

Nice one. The Chinese “regime” will tell you that they believe that Moslem terrorists should be caught and punished for what they do. If that means that during the investigation some innocent Uighur ends up in a camp that’s a risk worth taking.

Getting the popcorn…

 

[ericwn]

It's as much of a back door as Siri is a back door because it transmits your recordings to Apple to process them. Who knows who's listening to them!

Yes, I know starting with iOS 15, Siri will be moving to on-device processing, but that's part of Apple's strive for more privacy.

Whatever you call Siri, sending that data to Apple has surely not been used to improve the system by much.

If this new scanning spy method for our photos has the reliability of Siri, then we’re in deep deep trouble.