Tech giant Apple is taking to Malta’s roads to assemble a vast library of images for its Maps mobile app.

From last week, white cars bearing the words ‘Apple Maps’ and equipped with a roof-mounted 360-degrees camera started navigating around the country taking photos of roads, signs and landmarks.

The operation is projected to run until the beginning of March and follows a similar undertaking by Google in 2016.

Once published, the images captured by Apple will allow users of its devices to view images from around the country.

According to the company’s website, the initiative is to take photos to “improve Apple Maps and to support the Look Around feature [allowing users to view 360-degree street images, similar to Google Street View].”

The tech giant also said it was taking photographs using “portable systems” in pedestrian areas and streets not accessible by car, “for example, certain streets in Valletta that cannot be driven”.

While some pedestrian surveys are being done using a “backpack system”, it noted others would employ the use of portable devices made by the company, such as iPads and iPhones.

The company said it “may periodically revisit and recollect data in some locations”, meaning Malta could expect to see more Apple camera-mounted cars in the future.

While this month’s survey is the company’s first such outing in the country, it comes seven years after Google did the same in Malta.

When the rival tech giant’s images were published in 2017, some users were quick to point out that they revealed a litany of traffic illegalities such as vehicles parked on double yellow lines, at corners or on zebra crossings and without the drivers in their seat.

And that’s not all. In 2022, Malta Today reported it had stumbled upon a Google Street View image of Opposition Leader Bernard Grech wearing shorts outside his Mosta home while researching an article.

This raises the question of privacy concerns – something big tech has been frequently in the spotlight for in Europe in recent years and which contributed to the EU’s introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 and Digital Services Act (DSA) in 2022.

With car-mounted cameras travelling round the country taking constant photos, there is a good chance your image will end up in Apple’s database and soon after be accessible to the world.

However, Apple is keen to stress it is “committed to protecting your privacy while conducting these surveys”, pointing to censoring faces and licence plates as examples, adding it was “working closely” with the authorities to make sure it was following regulations.

And while we will not know until the images are published and integrated into Apple Maps, the surveys could lead to better options for cyclists, who remain without bicycle routing in Google Maps – something the government promised to address back in October.

Apple Maps was first introduced in 2012 but was widely panned for inaccurate or missing data, leading to Apple CEO Tim Cook saying he was “extremely sorry” in an open letter to customers.

The company is currently also undertaking similar photo surveys in the UK, France and Italy, among other countries.

Questions were sent to Apple on Friday.