Apple will start checking public iCloud links for harmful content with its next round of software updates. The change arrives in iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3, and it covers photos in iCloud Photos and files in iCloud Drive shared with the "Anyone with the link" option. Apple published the change in a new support document on 3 November. The updates are in developer beta now, and the public release is expected in December.
Only one kind of link is affected. iCloud sharing offers two settings: "People you choose", which limits access to people invited or approved by the owner, and "Anyone with the link", which lets anyone with the link open the item. The new check applies only to the second setting. Items shared with named people, or sent as a copy, are not part of the change, and Apple has said nothing new about those.
Apple leaves harmful content undefined
Apple does not define harmful content on the support page, and it does not say how the check works. MacRumors notes that the term could cover malware, malicious files or child sexual abuse material, given Apple's mention of law enforcement involvement. The company has not confirmed any of those categories, and it has not said which countries the checks will start in. The page also carries the usual note that not every feature is available in every country or region.
The consequence for flagged content is blunt. If the company finds harmful content, the support document says it reserves the right to move, refuse, modify, remove or delete the content at any time. It may also act against the owner's account, including blocking or disabling it, blocking the creation of a new account with the same email address or phone number, or involving law enforcement if necessary. The warning applies to anyone who uploads harmful content through a public link.
Apple notes public links are not encrypted
The check does not remove a protection that public links had, because they never had it. Apple already says that sharing with "Anyone with the link" does not support Advanced Data Protection, its optional end-to-end encryption feature for supported iCloud data. Items shared that way are no longer end-to-end encrypted, even when the owner or the participants have turned on Advanced Data Protection. That point matters because the new check means the company can look at the content of a public link, which it could not do for fully encrypted data.
The 27.3 updates carry more than the link change. The first iOS 27.3 beta, released to developers on 3 November, also adds Siri AI improvements, new Safari features and an all-new Health app, according to 9to5Mac. The beta build is listed as 24C5037i, and it gives no public release date. MacRumors expects the public release in December, which is when most users will see the new link rules for the first time.
Apple gives no date for older iCloud links
One question has no answer yet. The company does not say whether links created before the 27.3 updates will be checked, or whether the check will apply only to links made after the update is installed. The support document is silent on that point, and the company has not answered it in its other published material. Users with old public links will have to wait for the public release to learn whether those links fall under the new rule.
The change fits a wider pattern in how the company handles shared content. A public link is not a private channel, and the support document makes that plain: anyone with the link can open the item, including the company itself. The check adds a review step to that openness, and the penalty for misuse can reach the account behind the link. Until the 27.3 updates reach the public in December, there is no setting to change and no action for users to take.