https://sneak.berlin/20230115/macos-scans-your-local-files-now/
macOS ventura 13.1 scans your local images using network API requests to apple when browsing local image files in the finder now.
be advised.
@sneak I shared your blog post and then immediately received criticism, and then someone sent me this link to the topic, obviously a response to your discovery.
https://eclecticlight.co/2023/01/18/is-apple-checking-images-we-view-in-the-finder/
"VLU can be disabled by disabling Siri Suggestions in System Settings > Siri & Spotlight, as previously explained."
The API request I observed via Finder QuickLook happened with Siri Suggestions *disabled*. So this response article has some issues.
@sneak Thank you for your explanations! I was already unsure because Louis Rossmann has also brought your report in an extra video and also confirmed from the technical point of view. I myself am unfortunately not so well versed in technology to be able to evaluate this from this point of view. That's why I sent you this article.
@unixviking as far as i know, rossman did not confirm anything from a technical point of view, he just signal boosted.
tbh nobody's going to know exactly what this process is doing until mediaanalysisd is reverse engineered. all we know now:
1. apple said they would scan local files for csam
2. mediaanalysisd is scanning local files for something or other
3. mediaanalysisd is talking to apple
@sneak I probably understood Louis a bit badly, unfortunately my English is not that overwhelming. But just the fact that he brought the topic was for me a confirmation of your experience. And I see it the same way: Apple has announced something that is an absolute no-go, and then a program scans its own files and communicates on it with Apple servers.... so for me something like that is already clear, otherwise I don't see any sense behind such a procedure.
@unixviking at best it's a bug. at worst it's surveillance.
@sneak I'm a negativist. I always assume the worst possibility.... but no matter which of the two options is ultimately true: whether we will ever know the truth? I don't think so. But no matter what: thank you for pointing that out!
@unixviking it's best to not assume worst or best, but simply be aware of the possibility space pending additional data and act accordingly.
@unixviking @sneak the article suggests it is Live Text not VLU, so disabling Siri Suggestions doesn't matter:
> Local images that are viewed in QuickLook Preview undergo normal analysis for Live Text, and text recognition where possible, but that doesn’t generate identifiers that could be uploaded to Apple’s servers.
@sneak You're absolutely right! That's why I moved all my data from various cloud services like iCloud, GDrive and OneDrive to a local NAS a long time ago. Because if they don't do it now (like Google and Microsoft in any case), at some point they WILL scan and analyze all data, whether on my computer or in their cloud.