iOS 18's Enhanced Visual Search Raises Privacy Concerns Over Default Photo Data Sharing

The new feature, enabled by default, sends encrypted photo data to Apple for landmark identification, prompting criticism over user consent and privacy safeguards.

Enhanced Visual Search, introduced in iOS 18 and macOS 15, expands on Apple's Visual Look Up by identifying landmarks and points of interest in photos.
The feature shares photo data with Apple by default, a move criticized for bypassing user consent and raising privacy concerns.
Apple claims the data is encrypted and anonymized, using techniques like differential privacy and IP masking to protect user information.
Developer Jeff Johnson argues the opt-out design undermines user autonomy and Apple's prior commitment to on-device privacy.
Users can disable the feature through device settings to prevent photo data from being shared with Apple's servers.