Apple Confirms It's Driving Vehicles to Collect Mapping Data For 'Street View' Imagery

Apple has published a new webpage to indicate its use of Apple Maps vehicles. The company notes that it is driving vehicles around the world to collect data for street level imagery that will be used in a future Apple Maps update.

Apple is driving vehicles around the world to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps. Some of this data will be published in future Apple Maps updates.

We are committed to protecting your privacy while collecting this data. For example, we will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication. If you have comments or questions about this process, please contact us.


Just like Google Maps' Street View, Apple will be blurring people's faces, license plates, and more in an effort to respect privacy. In addition to stating what the vehicles are being used for, Apple has outlined which cities and countries the vehicles will be driving in. For instance, for June 15 to June 30 the driving locations include:

United States
● Tucson, Arizona
● Oakland & Los Angeles, California
● Orlando, Florida
● Atlanta, Georgia
● Oahu, Hawaii
● Chicago, Illinois
● Boston, Massachusetts
● Detroit, Michigan
● St. Louis, Missouri
● New York, New York
● Dallas & Forth Worth, Texas
● Salt Lake City, Utah
● Seattle, Washington

Apple is also driving these vehicles internationally, collecting data for street view in Ireland and England.

Apple's use of vehicles to improve Apple Maps follows reports that the company hopes to shift to more of its mapping data in-house. With iOS 9, Apple built its own transit directions and the company hopes to continue that trend in future software updates.


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