Apple is cracking down on people who use their iPhones to record concerts and sporting events with a new auto-shutoff feature, the New York Post reports.
The tech company has spent the past 18 months developing a new feature that would automatically shut off the camera function of an iPhone that has been pointed towards a stage during an event, according to recent patent filings by Apple. Venues will be able to install infrared sensors that detect when an iPhone has been aimed at them, and subsequently send signals to the phone to turn off its camera. The sensors won’t affect other functions like phone call, e-mail, and text messages.
The new technology is an effort by Apple to placate concert planners and sports broadcasters who don’t want footage of their events showing up on YouTube. Industry insiders also think that this could be a way for Apple to reinforce a good relationship with record labels as it negotiates new deals to sell music and movies in the iTunes store, says the Post.
Apart from deterring amateur videographers, the infrared sensors could also be used to send information to a phone about things like museum exhibits or artwork.
