In August 2021, Apple announced a system to scan all photos uploaded to iCloud using NeuralHash to detect CSAM. Security researchers and the EFF immediately warned it was 'a backdoor masquerading as child safety' that governments could exploit to search for political content. Over 5,000 organizations and individuals signed an open letter opposing it. Apple delayed the rollout, then quietly killed the project in December 2022, admitting that scanning users' photos 'would create new threat vectors for data thieves' and open the door to 'bulk surveillance.'