Apple launched today an Apple Maps accessibility data trends resource to assist the impactful work happening across the globe to reduce COVID-19 spread. This mobility data offers useful information to local governments and health authorities and may even be used as a basis for future public policy by showing improvements within the number of individuals in their neighborhoods driving, walking, or using public transit.
Maps don’t link mobility data to the Apple ID of a device, and Apple doesn’t maintain a history of where a device was. The new website uses aggregated data gathered from Apple Maps to display mobility patterns for major cities and 63 countries or regions. The information is created by counting the number of requests for directions sent to Apple Maps. The data sets are then adjusted to represent a shift in the number of people around the world driving, walking, or using public transit. The availability of data in a given area, country, or region is subject to a variety of variables, including minimum requirements for requests for directions made daily.
Apple has built privacy into the heart of Maps right from the beginning. Maps collected data, such as search words, navigation routing, and traffic information, are correlated with constantly resetting random, rotating identifiers, so Apple has no profile of your moves and searches. It helps Maps to possess a far better experience while retaining user privacy.
