A new Apple support document says items shared from iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive with the "Anyone with the link" option will be made accessible to Apple so it can check them for harmful content, starting with iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS 27.3. Those items lose end-to-end encryption, and flagged content can cost the sharer their Apple Account.
If you share work files from iCloud with a public link, Apple will start checking them. Apple published a support document on November 3. It says that starting with iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3, anything shared with the “Anyone with the link” option is made accessible to Apple so it can check it for harmful content. MacRumors and 9to5Mac spotted the change on November 4.
What Apple will check
The checks cover photos from iCloud Photos and files from iCloud Drive shared with “Anyone with the link.” Apple’s document does not describe checks on items shared with “People you choose.” MacRumors adds that files sent with “Send a Copy” aren’t evaluated either.
Apple’s document doesn’t define harmful content or explain how the checks work. MacRumors suggests the scope could include malware, malicious files and child sexual abuse material, given that Apple mentions law enforcement. That is MacRumors’ reading. Apple’s text names no categories.
Three consequences are spelled out in Apple’s text:
- Public items lose end-to-end encryption. A shared item “is no longer end-to-end encrypted,” even if you turned on Advanced Data Protection.
- Flagged content can be removed. Apple “reserves the right to move, refuse, modify, remove, or delete the content at any time.”
- Your account is on the line. Apple may block or disable the sharer’s Apple Account, prevent new accounts from using the same email address or phone number, and involve law enforcement if necessary.
Apple hasn’t said whether links created before the 27.3 updates will be checked. The 27.3 releases are in developer beta now, and MacRumors expects the public release in December.
A flagged link can cost you the whole Apple Account
For most people this changes little. For a founder who runs work through a personal Apple Account, the risk sits in the account action. A disabled Apple Account reaches well past one file: device backups, iCloud Mail, purchases and Find My all live on it. Apple publishes no appeal process in this document.
What to do before 27.3 ships, as our recommendations:
- Share client and team files with “People you choose.” It requires the recipient to sign in, and Apple’s document does not describe checks on those shares.
- Audit your public links. Old “Anyone with the link” shares of contracts, decks or exports are the ones to switch or delete, since Apple hasn’t said whether existing links will be checked.
- Move company file sharing to a company account. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Box and Dropbox give an admin control over sharing and an account owner who isn’t you personally.
The iOS 27.3 beta is already a big one. It also brings the redesigned Health app and Siri AI for every developer’s app. If you connected ChatGPT to your iCloud Mail and Calendar, that runs on the same Apple Account this policy can disable.