[averageRoyalty]

> unlike every other company that requires explicit opt in.

Not defending Apple here, but that's silly. User hostility and auto gobbling up data without consent is perfectly normal for most companies out there.

[lern_too_spel]

No other company automatically sends data about pictures users take on their phones off the phone. Not a single one. All required explicit opt-in except for Apple. Hence, the news story.

[andy_xor_andrew]

I guess it's a matter of informing the public that homomorphic encryption means no information is visible to Apple, so Apple never receives any information about your pictures at all.

I guess you could make the argument "well what if one day they stop using homomorphic encryption", but that argument doesn't make much sense since 1) why would they and 2) you could already ask the same question today "what if they just started sending info anyway"

[wkat4242]

Still. Asking the user is important. Even when there isn't anything you can see.