iPhone map data released by Apple to track whether people are obeying coronavirus lockdown

Apple has released data from its Maps app to track whether people are complying with coronavirus lockdowns. The data shows whether its users are still requesting directions from their iPhones, and so can be used to see how much people are travelling compared to before the lockdowns came into effect. It shows a dramatic reduction in the number of people using driving, walking and transport directions to get around, suggesting that stay-in-place orders and other rules to stop the spread of coronavirus are working. In the San Francisco Bay area, for instance, requests for driving directions are down 70 per cent, and people looking for transit directions have dropped 84 per cent. In New York, transit requests were down 89 per cent.