Your child’s phone could soon have built-in protections that stop nude images from being taken, shared, or received. Not just on social media. At the device level.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer made the announcement at London Tech Week on June 8, speaking directly to Apple and Google. The message was simple: build these protections into your operating systems, or we’ll pass a law that forces you to.
What’s actually being proposed
This isn’t a new app or a content filter you have to set up. The government wants the technology baked into the phone itself.
The plan would:
- Block children from taking nude images using their device camera
- Prevent nude images from being received or shared through any app, including private messaging
- Work across all platforms, not just social media
- Be switched on by default, with adults able to turn it off after age verification
The technology already exists in parts. Apple currently has a feature called Communication Safety that detects nudity in certain contexts and shows a warning before the image is sent or opened. The government wants something stronger and wider than that. It wants a full block, not just a warning.
Why now
The numbers behind this announcement are hard to ignore. In the year to March 2025, there were nearly 37,000 recorded offences involving indecent images of children across UK police forces. That’s up from around 34,000 the year before.
Research from the Internet Watch Foundation found that 91% of the criminal child sexual abuse images it assessed in 2024 were self-generated. Meaning children either made them themselves, often under pressure, or were manipulated into doing so.
The average age a child in the UK first sees online pornography is still 13.
Former safeguarding minister Jess Philips cited the government’s slow response to this issue in her resignation letter last month. This announcement is, at least partly, a response to that pressure.
What happens next
Apple and Google have three months to show what they’re doing. If they don’t act, legislation follows, with financial penalties attached.
Apple has already age-verified its UK iPhone users. Google says it’s committed to protecting children. Whether either company can deliver the level of device-wide control the government is asking for in three months is a different question.
There are gaps worth knowing about. Laptops and webcams are not included in this announcement, not yet. The technology will also have to work across private messaging, which means software scanning screens and blocking content in real time. Privacy groups have raised concerns about what that kind of on-device scanning means for the future.
What this means for you as a parent
If this goes ahead, the hope is that the phone itself does more of the heavy lifting. You won’t need to rely purely on app settings or trusting your child to make the right decision in a difficult moment.
But it’s not a reason to step back. Laptops, gaming consoles, and shared devices aren’t covered. And no technical system stops every risk. Children still need to understand why this content is harmful, what grooming looks like, and that they can come to you without fear if something feels wrong.
If your child is under 13, they shouldn’t be on social media at all. Most platforms set 13 as their minimum age for a reason, and many child safety experts think that’s still too young.
If your child is a teenager and already on these platforms, the conversation about pressure, exploitation, and what to do if someone asks for images is one worth having now, before a problem arises.
Have you actually talked to your child about this?
Most parents haven’t. Not because they don’t care, but because it’s an uncomfortable conversation to start. The thing is, your child has almost certainly already encountered this topic, through friends, school, or online. You’re not introducing something new. You’re just making it safe to talk about.
You don’t need a big sit-down moment. A car journey works. So does a news story like this one as a natural opener. “Did you hear what the government announced yesterday?” is a much easier way in than “we need to talk.”
A few things worth covering:
- Pressure is real. Many children share images because they feel they have no choice. Make sure your child knows they can always say no, and that you won’t blame them if something has already happened.
- Once an image is sent, it’s gone. No app, no “delete for everyone” button, no promise from a friend changes that. They need to hear it plainly.
- Grooming doesn’t look like a stranger in a van. It looks like someone being unusually kind online, building trust over weeks, then slowly pushing boundaries. Teach them what that pattern feels like.
- If something goes wrong, they come to you first. Not a friend. Not Google. You. Make that feel safe before they ever need it.
- Laptops and gaming are not covered by this announcement. Risks don’t stop at the phone. Know what devices your child uses and where.
This announcement is a real step forward. It’s also the beginning, not the end, of the conversation.