iCloud links shared with anyone will get scanned by Apple in iOS 27.3

Apple will start inspecting iCloud items that anyone with a link can open, scanning them for what the company calls "harmful content." The change kicks in with iOS 27.3 and the parallel 27.3 updates for iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. Apple laid it out in a support document that 9to5Mac picked up on and The Verge reported.

The scanning comes bundled with a loss of privacy. Under the "Anyone with the Link" permission, the support document says the content "is made accessible to Apple to check for harmful content." The same setting also means the shared item is no longer end-to-end encrypted.

What exactly counts as harmful? Apple isn't saying. The support document describing the feature doesn't define the term, leaving users to guess where the line sits. The Verge notes the doc offers no definition.

The setting only applies when you hand out public link access. If a user shares an iCloud item through other permissions, this particular access-to-Apple clause doesn't come into play, according to the support document.

The 27.3 updates are the delivery vehicle, so the change arrives whenever Apple ships those versions. Until then, the current sharing behavior stands.