watchOS 8

Apple delays rollout of its child safety features, including the CSAM detection system

Back in August, with about as little fanfare as possible, Apple announced a trio of new features coming to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, and watchOS 8. There are three in total, each of which fall under the company's new, concerted efforts to help protect against child abuse and sexual exploitation. And while the features were seen as a positive move in general, when it came to the specifics of one of the new features, there was a lot of pushback. And apparently it worked.

Apple seeds eighth betas of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 to developers [Update: public betas now available]

Image showing "iOS 15 New Beta Available" against a colorful background

It's only been a few days since Apple last seeded a beta of its next major platform updates to developers. But here we are, marching towards the inevitable public launch, and Apple's working on refinements. Which is why, today, we're seeing yet another beta seeded to developers ahead of the wide release for the next major updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

Apple offers another look at the security and privacy baked into CSAM photo scanning

Earlier this month, Apple revealed new features baked into most of its major operating systems. Each of them, of which there are three, are designed to help protect children against sexual abuse and exploitation. And while these are hailed as good things, on a grand scale, it's the finer details in regards to one of the features in particular that has many people concerned.

Apple’s head of privacy addresses concerns regarding the new Expanded Protections for Children

It should come as no surprise that Apple has had to go out of its way a bit to offer more context related to some of the newest features coming soon to its major platforms. With it being centered around child protections, but using some invasive efforts to get there, people are concerned the company might be overstepping. In an effort to assuage fears and concerns, Apple's tried to shine as much light on the new features as possible.