iPhone’s nudity detection system censors a “naked” dog
No more unsolicited nudes of Daisy.
Image by Cybernews
- Apple’s Sensitive Content Warning flagged an iMessage video of a dog receiving belly rubs as potential nudity.
- The system blurred the video because it appeared to detect the dog’s teats, but users could still tap “Show” to view it.
- Apple says the tool uses on-device machine learning, so flagged photos and videos are not shared with Apple.
- Reports of false positives, including children, toys and objects, show the limits of automated nudity detection.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Apple’s sensitive content detection system is so effective that it has censored a dog's private parts.
Apple introduced a Sensitive Content Warning system across iOS in 2023 to prevent users from seeing unwanted nudity.
The 404 Media reports that the system recently flagged a video of a dog lying on her back and receiving belly rubs, which was sent via iMessage.
On closer inspection, the video displayed some of the dog’s teats, which were triggered as potentially inappropriate.
“This may be sensitive content,” the system warned, but enabled access to the unblurred version of the video after clicking on the “Show” button.
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Apple’s Sensitive Content Warning works by notifying the user about potential nudity in photos or images before viewing them
It uses on-device machine learning to analyze media without indicating to Apple about flagged content. Neither does it give Apple access to the photos or videos, according to the company.
The system requires iOS 17 or later, iPadOS 17 or later, watchOS 10 or later, macOS Sonoma or later, or visionOS 2 or later.
The Sensitive Content Warning must be activated in the “Privacy & Security” section of the settings.
This isn’t the first time the system has censored what it wasn’t supposed to.
A father of 4 was talking to his wife on FaceTime when one of his shirtless sons came into view on camera. The system immediately notified him that sensitive content was being displayed and asked whether he wanted to resume the call.
Meanwhile, Reddit users are reporting more false positives, ranging from a squeaky rat toy and a gray pencil to a stuck-out tongue.