(Not sure if this is worldwide or only in some countries)
Updating to iOS 26.4DB2 will put your phone into a parental-restricted mode with adult websites blocked on all browsers, warning prompts every time you try to send or receive an explicit image on a messaging app, and all social media apps blocked on the App Store (in Australia)
The settings to disable this mode are locked off until you verify your age either with a credit card, photo ID, or though information Apple already has (like the age of your account).
I’ve been an apple user my entire adult life but this might finally be the thing that forces me off the platform. Do any other long term apple users have some tips about migrating? I’ve heard Ashai Linux is pretty good on mac hardware these days and I’ve been thinking about GrapheneOS for a while.
That was already happening, as the option to block sending and receiving of such content was able to be turned on in your screen time settings, and you could mandate it for your children by managing your kids accounts on the family organizers device. If someone is under the age of 13 they are required to be on a family share, and if you don’t have “Ask to Buy” enabled, from what I know you won’t get a refund for anything with the excuse my kid bought this without permission.
Overall it all seems logical, but in those scenarios the ages and requirements are mostly all controlled by the parent.
Scary. I had no idea it went beyond the iCloud scans. I avoided the cloud after that celebrity image leak.
Guess we might see a rise in offline or dumb devices. I wonder how this will affect other nations that already have restrictive internet access. If the
USWest becomes more locked down where would free and accessible info go?