Map service improvement Apple's camera cars roll through Bonn from mid-June
Bonn/Berlin · Apple cars will soon be driving through Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis. They will not only gather measurement data to improve Apple Maps per se, but also take photos for 360-degree street views.
Apple camera cars are currently driving through Germany again. They will gather measurement data for Apple Maps and photos for the Maps function Look Around, which is not yet offered in Germany. Anyone who wants to know if and when such a vehicle could cross their path can find out in a detailed schedule that the company has published for its data collection. For Bonn, Cologne and the Rhein-Sieg district, the period is between 15 June and 10 September.
In addition to the schedule, there is also an information page. All the trips are to be completed by 30 September. Apple promises to make faces or license plates on pictures automatically unrecognisable before they are published in Maps. But anyone who has questions or would like to proactively request the pixelation of a face, license plate or house can contact the company via the e-mail address MapsImageCollection@apple.com.
In Google Maps, where the comparable Streetview function has long been available, you will always find a complaint option at the bottom right of the window when images are displayed. There you simply have to click on "Report problem".
If photo problems cannot be solved amicably with the companies, one can complain to the respective competent data protection supervisory authority to enforce one's right to information self-determination, explains the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI).
Complaints against Apple should be addressed to the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (poststelle@lda.bayern.de), complaints against Google to the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (mailbox@datenschutz.hamburg.de).
