Apple plans to debut a crash detection feature for several of its devices, allowing them to detect car crashes and dial 911 automatically, according to the Wall Street Journal Monday (Nov.1).
The feature is slated to roll out next year.
The feature would make it so that iPhone and Apple Watch sensors like the accelerometer would detect car crashes instantly through the measuring of a sudden spike in gravitational force on impact.
Apple, per reports, has been working on the feature for the last year. The tech giant has been collecting data from anonymous users, and the report says the devices have already found over 10 million suspected vehicle impacts – with over 50,000 including a 911 call.
The report said that because things are still testing, Apple might not release the feature in the end.
Apple has faced pressure over its plans to scan children’s messages with the intent of catching abuse earlier.
See more: Apple’s Scan Plans Prompt Organizations’ Requests To Stop
Over 90 organizations, focused on things like policy and rights, have said in a letter that the tech giant’s work could have adverse effects to “censor protected speech, threaten the privacy and security of people around the world, and have disastrous consequences for many children.”
Sharon Bradford Franklin, co-director of the Security & Surveillance Project with the Center of Democracy & Technology, said it was “disappointing & upsetting” that Apple was considering implementing the policy.
In response, Apple said it had been working on the privacy concerns. The tech giant put out a document showing how the “architecture” of the scanning software should fight back against attempts to “subvert it.
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