While this might sound like a noble pursuit-I think we can all agree that reducing the proliferation of CSAM online is of paramount importance-Snowden and others were concerned that, with this initiative, Apple would open a “back door” to abuses of privacy. Edward Snowden, among others, spoke out on Twitter and published an article about Apple’s plans to start scanning images intended for upload to iCloud and information exchanged using the Messages app for CSAM in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Apple’s new initiative to scan material on users’ phones for potential child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was delayed after pushback from individuals and organizations concerned about the new policy’s privacy and security implications. In 2021, the debate over iPhone privacy has been blowing up on a major scale. Related: How to Know If Someone Blocked Your Number on iPhone Up until then, I had pretty much assumed that I’d forgotten about Googling something or looking it up on Amazon, but I was sure I hadn’t with that one.” Stories like this raise the question-is your iPhone spying on you?

My colleague, Erin MacPherson, told me this story: “My mom was talking to me about wanting a side-by-side double trash can for under her breakfast bar, and a few days later, I was seeing Amazon ads for exactly those. Many of us have had a conversation with a friend, only to be scrolling on our phones later and come across an ad for the very thing we thought we’d been discussing in private.

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