Apple Says It'll Use Apple Maps Look Around Photos To Train AI

An anonymous reader shares a report: Sometime earlier this month, Apple updated a section of its website that discloses how it collects and uses imagery for Apple Maps' Look Around feature, which is similar to Google Maps' Street View, as spotted by 9to5Mac. A newly added paragraph reveals that, beginning in March 2025, Apple will be using imagery and data collected during Look Around surveys to 'train models powering Apple products and services, including models related to image recognition, creation, and enhancement.'

Apple collects images and 3D data to enhance and improve Apple Maps using vehicles and backpacks (for pedestrian-only areas) equipped with cameras, sensors, and other equipment including iPhones and iPads. The company says that as part of its commitment to privacy, any images it captures that are published in the Look Around feature have faces and license plates blurred. Apple also says it will only use imagery with those details blurred out for training models. It does accept requests for those wanting their houses to also be blurred, but by default they are not.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.