Apple just made a new tweak that was discovered in iOS 15.5 beta and this can bring controversy. Turns out we took a photo from a site that Apple deems “viewer sensitive” and will prevent it from appearing in the “memories” section of the native Photos app.
The controversy will come first, because once again, Apple decides for us, without being able to change the criteria, to choose whether we want the application to discriminate or not. And the second, that it is the company that chooses the locations, according to its criteria.
This week, the third beta of iOS 15.5 was released for developers. This new update incorporates a novelty that will bring a queue, no doubt. Manzana will block photos which are taken in “very sensitive places for users” and will not show them in the “memories” section of the photos application.
“Memoriesis a feature in the Photos app on iOS and macOS that recognizes people, places, and events from your photo library to automatically create organized collections with a slideshow. Since this feature is entirely based on machine learning, Apple made some changes to the app’s algorithm to avoid creating “unwanted” location memories.
It was found that in iOS 15.5 beta 3 code, the Photos app now has a list of user-sensitive locations, so any photos taken in those geotagged locations will never appear in the section “memories”. Interestingly, all forbidden places in this version are related to the Holocaust of World War II.
A list with only one subject: the Nazi holocaust
Here is the list of blocked locations in Memories feature of Photos app with iOS 15.5 beta 3:
- Yad Vashem Memorial
- Dachau Concentration Camp
- American Holocaust Museum
- Majdanek Concentration Camp
- Berlin Holocaust Memorial
- Schindler Factory
- Belzec extermination camp
- Anne Frank House
- Sobibor extermination camp
- Treblinka extermination camp
- Chelmno-Kulmhof extermination camp
- Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp
Each location is assigned a latitude, longitude and radius, so the Photos app will ignore the images taken in these places creating new memories. Of course, Apple may update this list with new locations with future iOS updates.
The controversy is served. First because Apple does not let you choose whether the user wants to avoid these places or not. The company imposes it on you. And second, why only these placesand no others that can also be described as “sensitive”, such as the location of the Twin Towers in New York, without going any further.
