Apple on Tuesday announced the release of its new mobility data trends tool that distributes information collected from Apple Maps to help provide insights to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The information will be sent out to local governments and health authorities that can make use of the data as needed.
Apple believes that the data could be used as a foundation for new public policies by showing changes in the volume of people driving, walking, or taking public transit.
The mobility data site consists of aggregated data collected from Apple Maps to show mobility trends for major cities as well as 63 countries or regions. The data is collected via the number of requests made to Apple Maps for directions.
Once collected, the data reflect the change in the number of people who happen to be driving, walking, or taking public transit. With the tool, users can search by city, country, or region to see how routing requests have shifted since January 13, 2020, leading up to today. Apple also provides a complete downloadable data set that features daily changes in requests for directions by transportation type for all available countries and cities.
The company has stated that mobility data sourced from Apple Maps is not associated with a user’s Apple ID, nor does Apple keep a history of where users have traveled. The data collected by Apple Maps, which includes search terms, navigation routing, and traffic information, is associated with random, rotating identifiers that are continuously reset, which prevents a profile of movements and searches from being constructed.
Apple also highlighted that the company has sourced and donated more than 30 million face masks for COVID-19 medical responders, and is creating and designing face shields.
Along with debuting its mobility trends tool, Apple today also highlighted some of the other efforts that it has made in the fight against COVID-19, such as sourcing and donating more than 30 million face masks, and creating and designing face shields.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.