Yesterday, a viral tweet raised alarm about an iPhone feature that isn’t often talked about: Photo categorization. Twitter user @ellieeewbu pointed out that when she searched for “brassiere” in her Photos, a folder popped up showing all her photos corresponding to that keyword.
ATTENTION ALL GIRLS ALL GIRLS!!! Go to your photos and type in the ‘Brassiere’ why are apple saving these and made it a folder!!?!!?😱😱😱😱
— ell (@ellieeewbu) October 30, 2017
If you’ve ever taken a selfie where your cleavage is visible, you too probably have this folder. As creepy as it initially sounds, Apple is not, as one headline suggested, “obsessed with women’s lingerie.” In fact, the technology that creates that “brassiere” folder is actually very useful.
Apple’s image recognition software is working exactly as it was designed. The issue, though, is that people aren’t exactly comfortable with how the system works and the search category that kicked off the controversy.
To check out the feature in action, open the Photos app and tap the magnifying glass along the top of the screen. You can type any letter to see the many categories it produces, based on the photos in your library. For instance, “art,” “armchair,” “automobile,” “amusement park” and so on. Google Photos also allows you to search for people, places and things and works the same way: Simply start typing in the search bar to see keywords pop up.
Also, let’s make one thing clear: There isn’t a separate “folder” filled with your intimate pics within the Photos app. Also, no one else can access your photos without you giving them permission. So the chance of your private photos leaking is exactly the same as it was before.
