Apple plans to scan publicly accessible iCloud links for harmful content when iOS 27.3 arrives. The policy will also accompany iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3, covering public shares from Apple’s Photos and Drive services.
The checks apply to URLs configured for anyone who has the link, as first reported by ZDNet. Users can share photos and files through those URLs without granting access to specific accounts, and ZDNet reported that Apple may act against users who violate the policy.
Public sharing is the focus of the planned checks
The rollout concerns a specific access setting. A person can create a sharing URL for an album or file and allow access to anyone holding that address, giving the material a wider potential audience than a share limited to particular accounts.
Apple has identified Photos and Drive as services covered by the forthcoming policy. The company is tying the review process to publicly available links, rather than describing a scan of all material held in its cloud storage.
The distinction matters for people who use link-sharing tools to distribute albums or files to a broad audience. Apple plans to place content checks at the point where material becomes available to anyone with the URL, which could affect whether users choose public links or account-based access for future sharing. It also gives Apple an enforcement role over a distribution method built for easy access.
Enforcement details remain unconfirmed
Apple has yet to say which categories of material it will classify as harmful, whether the checks will rely on automated systems, human reviewers or both, or what penalties could follow a violation. The company also has not outlined a process for users to challenge an enforcement decision. An exact release date for the 27.3 updates has not been provided.
This article was produced with AI assistance from multi-source reporting and is published under our editorial standards.
