For reasons unbeknownst to me at the time of writing (for it requires much more introspection), I think this would be OK if it were a service that ran only on icloud-stored photos— rather than apple devices across the board.

I’m not sure why this is the line crossed for me. Perhaps it is only because I willfully choose _not_ to store _any_ data on iCloud (or at the very least a minimum amount as possible). Even moreso, I’m a bit unsure of what that line even is.

Is it a software vs hardware thing? No, because one could argue the service is not Apple hardware-specific, but rather specific to the iOS software.

So perhaps the line crossed is this being an OS feature rather than a SAAS feature. It is unfortunate that the precedent has been set where I am OK with potentially privacy invasive features on SAAS products, but I suppose it is what it is.