Apple says items shared using “Anyone with the Link” will be accessible to the company for harmful-content checks in version 27.3 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS. Apple’s Support page, published November 3, describes that policy; reports published November 4 said the public release of version 27.3 was planned for December.
The policy names public links to iCloud content
Apple’s stated rule covers the “Anyone with the Link” setting. Infobae reports that the affected items include iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive content shared that way. The reports distinguish public links from “People you choose,” which shares with selected recipients.
Public-link sharing already had an encryption limitation
Infobae and The Register reported that items shared through public links are not end-to-end encrypted, even when Advanced Data Protection is enabled. That limitation predates the newly stated checks.
Apple’s terms include content and account actions
Infobae and The Register report that Apple’s terms reserve the right to move, refuse, modify, remove or delete content it considers harmful. They also report that Apple may block or disable an associated Apple Account, prevent another account linked to the same email address or phone number, and involve law enforcement when necessary.
The policy refers to “harmful content” without defining the category. Reports also say Apple has not described how it will conduct the checks.
Version 27.3 was reported as planned for December
On November 4, Infobae and The Register reported that version 27.3 was planned for public release in December.
