Apple’s iOS beta update will blur nude images on iMessages

Apple’s latest iOS beta gives the option for nude images to be blurred on iMessages.

The latest beta for iOS 15.2 is set to add an Apple Communication Safety feature to the Messages app which is designed to protect children from potentially being sent harmful images.

According to MacRumours, the feature will scan through incoming and outgoing pictures for “sexually explicit” material, and any images meeting this description are blurred.

The person will also be warned about its contents and told it’s okay not to view it.

The new feature will be completely optional, and people will have to switch it on in settings before their messages will be scanned.

The feature, which ties into Apple’s existing Family Sharing system, is also designed to offer resources to affected children for them to get help.

Apple previously announced the feature in August, but at the time it was claimed it would send notifications to parents if a child decided to view a sexually explicit image.

This feature has not made it to the new beta test, after critics objected to it because it posed a risk of outing LGBTQ children to their parents before they’re ready.

MacRumors also claimed that in its original form, the feature could have introduced safety issues when a parent is violent or abusive.

Instead, the child themselves will have the choice of whether to alert someone they trust about a flagged photo, and that this choice is separate from the choice of whether to unblur and view the image.