India imposed a nationwide lockdown from March 25 to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus disease. As the people were instructed to stay at home, mobility was severely impacted in all parts of the country.?
Apple is now sharing the numbers behind the mobility restriction and they're saying that driving in India dropped by a whopping 80 percent in mid-April.
The data comes through mobility trends reports released by Apple Maps on April 14. Apple has unveiled the tool to help government agencies better monitor the mobility trends in specific areas to fight the spread of COVID 19.
A simple search on the tool reveals the mobility trends in any region across the world. Specific to India, the mobility trends tool mentions driving in the country to have been reduced by as much as 80 percent within the lockdown period. A similar effect is reflected in walking as a mobility option, having reduced by 75 percent in this period.
The tool even shows specific cities of India with their respective drops in mobility options. Most severe impact was recorded in Mumbai, where driving went down by 89 percent and walking by 84 percent on April 13. New Delhi saw 83 percent reduction in walking and 86 percent reduction in driving on April 13.
Apple Maps generates this information by counting the number of requests Apple Maps receives for directions. The data observed is then ※compiled to reflect a change in volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit around the world.§
So essentially, this data deviates from the true figures, This is because the data availability in a particular region is subjective in this case, based upon the ※minimum thresholds for direction requests made per day§ and other factors.
Apple claims to take care of the privacy issues while doing this. On a webpage, it mentions ※privacy is a fundamental human right. At Apple, it＊s also one of our core values, so Maps doesn＊t associate your data with your Apple ID.§ It also claims to not keep a history of the user＊s whereabouts.
This is not the first effort by Apple to help the concerned agencies in their battle against Coronavirus. It recently partnered with Google to work on a COVID 19 tracker that will be used by countries across the globe to track the spread of the novel Coronavirus. In addition, the company has donated millions of masks and face shields to medical workers fighting the virus on the frontlines.
Apple also conducted its launch event for the 2nd-gen iPhone SE. You can have a look at the all new iPhone here.