Apple releases Maps data that shows how coronavirus lockdowns affect movement
- Apple says it will release data on whether people are driving, walking or taking public transit less during lockdown orders
- The data is gathered by counting the number of routing requests from Apple Maps and comparing it with past usage
The data is gathered by counting the number of routing requests from Apple Maps, which is installed on all iPhones, and comparing it with past usage to detect changes in the volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit around the world, Apple said.
The information is being updated daily and compared with a date in mid-January, before most US lockdown measures were in place, Apple said. More than 90 per cent of Americans are under stay-at-home orders and various lockdowns are under way in other countries around the globe.
The data would be aggregated so that requests from individual users would not be shown, and it does not track individual users or their locations, the company said.
In the San Francisco Bay area, requests for driving directions as of April 12 were down 70 per cent versus January 13, and requests for transit directions plunged 84 per cent, the data showed. In New York City, driving direction requests were down 69 per cent and transit requests were down 89 per cent.