Apple’s latest shock update is definitely a reason to buy the new iPhone 13 and upgrade to iOS 15 as soon as you can. But Apple’s fight with Google and Facebook has taken a sudden twist, and the future shape of your iPhone is now genuinely at stake.
By now you’ll know that Apple has delayed the addition of an iCloud Photos CSAM filter and an iMessage photo filter to iOS 15. This backtrack was becoming as inevitable as the backlash Apple’s decision triggered in the first place. The iPhone 13 launch has been hugely tainted and Apple has failed to shake the negative messaging. This is not what we’ve come to expect when the stage lights dim, and a glitzy Apple launch begins.
Apple is quite simply a victim of its own success here. We pay a premium for our iPhones because we believe the hype—privacy, security, control. The fact that Apple’s decision to run client-side monitoring prompted genuine questions over whether users should stick with the brand, shows just how fundamental an issue this quickly became.
This is a disaster for Apple—while hitting pause will be PR’d as listening to user feedback, the reality is that there are fundamental issues that can’t be resolved without a complete reversal of its plans. And worse for Apple, the company has now lined up behind its major rivals, following their own embarrassing reversals this year.
Three privacy backtracks inside just a few months—on that at least we can take some comfort. The privacy lobby is honing its skills, aligning its voice. Concerted campaigns have made a material difference when in the past that would not have been the case.
