Starting with iOS 27.3, Apple will check files shared with “Anyone with the link” for harmful content. Apple published the change on November 3, 2026. It covers iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS at version 27.3 or later. iOS 27.3 is still in beta, so this change is not in a public release yet. Apple released the first developer beta on November 3 and has said the public release is planned for December.
When you choose Share a Link for a photo in iCloud Photos or a file in iCloud Drive, you pick one of two audiences:
- “People you choose” only lets people you invite or approve open the item.
- “Anyone with the link” lets anyone who has the link open it, and Apple’s page says that includes Apple.
The new check applies to that second option. Apple’s page doesn’t say whether it also covers Send a Copy, and it describes no change to “People you choose.”
So the check covers any file you share with “Anyone with the link,” wherever you post that link.
Public links are outside end-to-end encryption, even with ADP on
With Advanced Data Protection turned on, most of your iCloud data is end-to-end encrypted. That means Apple doesn’t hold the keys, so only your devices can read the data.
Apple’s page says a shared item is no longer end-to-end encrypted when it can be accessed by Anyone with the Link. That holds even if the owner or participants have Advanced Data Protection turned on. A file you make public is the exception, and that’s the line I’d read twice before tapping Share a Link.
Flagged uploads can be removed and the account blocked
If you try to upload harmful content, Apple says it can move, refuse, modify, remove, or delete the content at any time. It can also block or disable your Apple Account, and block a new account with the same email address or phone number. Apple may involve law enforcement “if necessary.”
Apple’s page leaves out the details
Apple’s page doesn’t say:
- How the check works, or whether a person reviews flagged items.
- What counts as harmful content.
- Whether you can turn the check off. The page describes no setting for it.
- Which countries or regions get it. It says only that “Not all features are available in all countries or regions.”
- Whether a Public Website link in Shared Albums is covered. The page doesn’t name Shared Albums.
- Whether the iOS 27.3 beta includes the check.
- How to appeal a flagged item.
The page says these items “will be checked by Apple for harmful content” and never says how. That is the gap I’d ask Apple about first.
Two checks before you share a link
Before you send an iCloud photo or file through a link:
- Choose “People you choose” for private files, such as family photos or documents with personal details.
- If you choose “Anyone with the link,” assume Apple can open the file, and from iOS 27.3, it will check the file for harmful content.
