Apple has added a feature to Photos to automatically recognise places in photos
Apple has added a feature to its Photos app that automatically recognises places in photos using artificial intelligence, but it raises privacy concerns.
Here's What We Know
With the release of iOS 18, Enhanced Visual Search became active by default. It allows iPhone to recognise places in photos and match them with the global Apple database.
However, this new feature has been criticised for potential privacy risks. In his blog, developer Jeff Johnson noted that there was little information about the feature at the time of its launch.
According to Johnson's research, Apple mentions the feature in only two places: in an updated privacy section on its website and in a blog post about combining machine learning and homomorphic encryption. Despite the company's security claims, both documents demonstrate how deeply artificial intelligence analyses photos.
Enhanced Visual Search feature. Illustration: Jeff Johnson
Here's How It Works
The algorithm works as follows: AI identifies a possible object in a photo, creates a digital "code" and encrypts it. This code is then sent to Apple's servers through anonymous channels. The servers find the corresponding object in the database and send the data back to the device for decryption. AI then confirms the match and adds a tag to the photo.
While this feature can be useful, many users, like Johnson, worry about whether it should be left on by default. This raises the question of how many privacy decisions are made without user input.
Source: Jeff Johnson
