Apple’s Privacy Invasion Technique – Enter Media Analysis Daemon

Apple brands itself as the company that delivers the best devices in terms of functionality and security. It ensures its users that “Privacy and security come first,” but do they? Ok, Apple devices saw some vulnerabilities here and there, but to think that macOS contains network-based spyware that functions even when all Apple services are disabled?

The tech giant has been in the spotlight in the past for some privacy-invading practices. However, back then, most of those incidents were justified in its Privacy Policy – Justified, not accepted!

Now, according to security researchers, Apple seems to be analyzing media files on macOS without our knowledge or consent. How is this possible? How is Apple implementing this? We’ve discussed everything below.

Apple – A History of Privacy Invasion

Just like any tech company, Apple is not flawless when it comes to privacy. It did have some intrusions and invasions that made us question how it handles our data.

A while ago, apple implemented new changes on iOS to prevent child abuse, which definitely pleased parents and the policy alike. However, it did raise some concerns among privacy watchdogs – and they were right.

In other words, iOS devices scan every single image that users upload to Apple’s iCloud storage service and use complex technology to spot images of child abuse.

Every single image! So, whether the users are involved in these practices or not, their privacy is definitely in question. However, at least when this feature was implemented, Apple had the guts to say so, despite some media pages’ attempts to cover it up:

“Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements before releasing these critically important child safety features.”

We don’t know if that was intended or not, but Apple’s statement clearly doesn’t reflect what the media article mentioned. The company certainly did not “Kills Its Plan to Scan Your Photos for CSAM.”

When a company wants to hide the evident truth, it uses technical terms that seem logical but, in the end, have ulterior motives.

In a nutshell, Apple will always comply with the FBI demands, which explains the 30,000+ customers’ data per year presented to US federal police on a silver platter.

Again, back then, Apple clearly stated the fact that they’ll implement this feature. This time around, however, everything happens in the background without our knowledge or consent.

Apple is Watching You – Promised Privacy Begone!

The tech giant has had previous incidents where its motto: “privacy is a human right,” was in question. Unfortunately, with the latest invasion technique, Apple might have killed every bit of trust among its users.

It’s not about the “Why” no; we’re not concerned about the reasons behind these sudden implementations. It’s about the intrusive, shady, and worrying “How.”

If you’re using macOS, rest assured it now invades your privacy via the Internet when you’re browsing local files. Even if iCloud and analytics are disabled, the background process remains active.

The Mac device uses a program named “mediaanalysisd (Media Analysis Daemon),” to analyze media files, even if users are not operating with iCloud, Apple Photos, or an Apple ID.

According to security analyst Jeffrey Paul:

“macOS is now connecting to Apple APIs via a program named mediaanalysisd (Media Analysis Daemon – a background process for analyzing media files.

Apple scanned my local files and those scanning programs attempted to talk to Apple APIs, even though I don’t use iCloud, Apple Photos, or an Apple ID.

This would have happened without my knoweldge or consent if I were not running third-party network monitoring software.

macOS now contains network-based spyware even with all Apple services disabled. It cannot be disabled via controls within the OS: you must used third party network filtering software (or external devices) to prevent it.”

So, the question is: How did Jeffrey Paul find out that Apple was spying on him? Well, a good security researcher always uses the right tools to maintain a device’s security and privacy, which is why he already has a third-party tool installed.

If it wasn’t for that, he wouldn’t have known that macOS is connecting to Apple APIs via the mediaanalysisd program. You can see the warning message Jeffrey received in the image below:

The tool is called Little Snitch, which he installed via USB on a fresh macOS before even connecting to a Wi-Fi network. Apparently, it was very effective, as, without it, he wouldn’t have figured out Apple’s new privacy invasion scheme.

Paul’s Statement Explained – In Video

Again, we have to state that aiding law enforcement to catch criminals is not a bad thing to do. However, things can go south quickly if innocent people are the ones caught in the crossfire.

The macOS scanning technique takes surveillance practices to a whole new level, as Apple did not acknowledge its presence. It decided to do everything in the background without the users’ consent and awareness.

To know more about this, make sure to watch this video by Louis Rossmann. He further explains Jeffrey Paul’s statement.

Just like in the past, the recent intrusion is totally a clear privacy violation and unjustifiable on any basis.

If you want to scan your users’ media files for whatever reason, release a statement and inform them about it. Don’t go behind their backs and do everything in a shady matter.

Apple Privacy in Question – Show Us Your Media Files

Apple has its ups and downs when it comes to handling its users’ information. However, this stunt cannot go unaddressed. The company is reported to be scanning media files on the device without the users’ knowledge – that’s huge.

People’s online privacy is something to cherish, and when a company says it’s going to protect that, it should live up to the promise.

So far, Paul has observed the invasion on the current version of macOS, macOS Ventura 13.1. We don’t know if any other models are affected. We do know, however, that Apple’s Privacy is indeed in question.