iOS 15.5 beta blocks ‘Sensitive Locations’ for Memories in Photos app

Apple today released the third beta of iOS 15.5 to developers, and while the update doesn’t seem to have any significant changes, Apple has made an interesting tweak to its native Photos app. The system will now block “Sensitive Locations” for Memories in the Photos app.

For those unfamiliar, Memories is a feature of the Photos app on iOS and macOS that recognizes people, places, and events in your photo library to automatically create “curated collections” with a slideshow. Since this feature is entirely based on machine learning, Apple has now made some changes to the app to avoid creating some unwanted memories.

As 9to5Mac analyzed in the iOS 15.5 beta 3 code, the Photos app now has a list of “Sensitive Locations,” so that any photos taken there will never be added to a memory. Interestingly, all the places banned in this version are related to the Holocaust.

Here’s the list of places that are blocked from the Memories feature in the Photos app with iOS 15.5 beta 3:

• Yad Vashem Memorial
• Dachau concentration camp
• US Holocaust Museum
• Majdanek concentration camp
• Berlin Holocaust Memorial
• Schindler Factory
• Belzec extermination camp 
• Anne Frank House
• Sobibor extermination camp
• Treblinka extermination camp
• Chelmno-Kulmhof extermination camp
• Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

Each location has latitude, longitude, and radius assigned, so that the Photos app will ignore images taken at these locations when creating new memories. Of course, Apple can update this list with new places with future iOS updates.

iOS 15.5 beta also brings changes to the Wallet app and reveals upcoming changes to Apple Pay. It’s unclear when exactly the update will be released to the public.

Read also:

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• iOS 15.5 hints at Bancomat and Bancontact on Apple Pay
• Apple to rebrand iTunes Pass in Wallet app with iOS 15.5