Apple Unveils Child Safety Updates in iOS 27
Original: Here’s How Apple Is Updating Its Child Safety Features in iOS 27
Why This Matters
Apple's public commitment to child safety signals a policy shift under growing legal and advocacy pressure on Big Tech platforms.
Apple announced multiple new Child Safety features at its June 2026 WWDC keynote, dedicating roughly 10 minutes to the topic. The move follows ongoing protests by Heat Initiative CEO Sarah Gardner outside Apple Park and active lawsuits, including one from West Virginia over CSAM practices.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2026, Apple devoted an unusually large portion of its keynote—approximately 10 minutes—to new Child Safety features set to arrive in iOS 27 and other platforms this fall. The announcement coincided with the fifth protest by Sarah Gardner, founder and CEO of nonprofit Heat Initiative, who was tied to a tree outside Apple Park in Cupertino to draw attention to what she describes as insufficient child protection measures in Apple products.
Gardner, who has 15 years of experience in online trust and safety, told WIRED that Apple had been 'consistently absent' from child safety conversations for years. While she does not consider the iOS 27 features groundbreaking, she called them 'a huge win' and a positive step forward.
Apple is currently facing a lawsuit from West Virginia alleging its business practices fail to adequately address child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The issue dates to Apple's earlier announcement of a photo-scanning tool for iCloud servers, which was subsequently canceled following criticism from privacy and security experts. Apple stated at the time that implementing the tool was 'not practically possible without ultimately imperiling the security and privacy of our users.'
Additional concerns raised include 47 AI-powered 'nudify' apps found on the App Store by the Tech Transparency Project in January, and deepfake websites leveraging Apple's single-sign-on system—an issue Apple partially addressed by removing connected developer accounts.