> For those wondering why you can't just delete these files

Maybe I'm missing context, what files are you referring to?

Probably the model weight files

Yes, if the model files are deleted then the software attempting to scan files would obviously have to error out.

On Apple Silicon Macs this isn’t true, as files are encrypted on disk with “data protection” (same thing as on iOS). You can enable FileVault but it’s just extra.

Also I’ve edited /etc without disabling FileVault, is it just /System which is protected this way?

System is separate I believe. Every single file is cryptographically signed.

Or 3. Disable iCloud Photo Library and have no scanning done at all.

For now. A simple change to hook IOImage load in a future update and it will be.

Except that everything is always like this. A simple change to location services on your phone to be a 24/7 reporting system. A simple change to your password manager to send all the passwords in plaintext somewhere.

This is something I don't see enough. Like I'm not terribly fond of these changes but people who are like "Well that's it, I'm leaving iOS" just strike me as either lying or they don't understand anything about technology. Like if you've used iCloud /anything/ then Apple /could/ already be scanning it or handing it over the FBI/etc. Similarly iOS (and Android unless built from source) is closed source and you already have no idea whats running on it in reality. So knowing all of that, on-device scanning is where you draw the line? That's just odd. Every "slippery slope" argument used for this photo scanning should have disqualified /every/ iPhone/Stock-Android phone already for these people. The fact these hashes and/or some of this code has been in iOS since 14.3 (not activated) already proves these people are full of it since no one noticed or said anything until it was announced (or a day before when the twitter thread went out).