Apple to prevent photographs from Holocaust-related sites from automatically being added to albums
Technology giant Apple is imposing tight new restrictions on users who want to take photographs of Holocaust-related sites and make them part of photo albums.
A new software update means that photos taken at Holocaust sites like the Anne Frank House and Auschwitz will no longer be included in automatically-generated albums created in the company’s signature app, Photos, in order to avoid “creating some unwanted memories”.
Users will not be able to disable Apple’s “sensitive locations” function, but will be able to include the images in albums they make themselves.
The aim, according to the company, is to avoid the trivialisation and minimisation of the Holocaust that occurs when photo-takers make images of themselves acting or dressed inappropriately in places commemorating the genocide of the Jewish people.
Apple’s list of sensitive locations includes the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel, the Dachau concentration camp, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, the Schindler Factory in Krakow, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and the Belzec, Chelmno, Treblinka and Sobibor Nazi death camps in Poland.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Software that presents users with photographs and videos of happy memories is probably not the best place for people to be reminded of their solemn visits to locations where the genocide of the Jewish people took place or where it is commemorated. However, some might say that these mementos should not be forever hidden away from us lest they upset us. Ultimately users will know what they want. We recognise that it is a tricky balance and feel that Apple should be applauded for acknowledging the issue and taking action, which is more than can be said for other platforms.”
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