[ibigb]

It seems apple devices are a black opaque box: support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303 Every thing is encrypted except imap email storage. They have no access to anything except that. They can't do anyting with any data except imap emails stored on their server.

The governments want them to do some thing preventing CSAM, so now they can match a perceptual hash--not content--to known images from an non-governmental organization. That is about the minimum invasive CSAM prevention anybody can do.

Can someone suggest an alternative CSAM prevention which is less intrusive?

It seems the alternative would be to continue to be a black opaque box, or NOT encrypt you photos and rumage through them.

[kevinherron]

They _can_ rummage through your photos. They are encrypted in transit and on the server but with a key that they have access to.

If it's not explicitly listed in the end-to-end encryption section then assume Apple can access it.

[ibigb]

From https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303 >End-to-end encryption provides the highest level of data security. Your data is protected with a key derived from information unique to your device, combined with your device passcode, which only you know. No one else can access or read this data.

So messages are opaque but photos are not?

[kevinherron]

Read the next line: "These features and their data are transmitted and stored in iCloud using end-to-end encryption:"

Notice the absence of photos from the list that follows?

> So messages are opaque but photos are not?

Yes. Unless you use iCloud backup, in which case your key is included in the backup and technically even your messages could be accessed.