Apple's iPhoto gives credit to OpenStreetMap data

Apple has finally acknowledged the use of OpenStreetMap data in its iOS iPhoto app, the open-source mapping project said on Thursday.

The iPhoto app, a photo-sorting tool for the iPad and iPhone, switched from Google Maps to OpenStreetMap (OSM) data back in March. The app uses mapping data so it can display the shoot location of geotagged photos.

However, the app did not credit the use of OSM data, leaving it up to the mapping project's team to point out the development in a blog post. That post was updated on Thursday with a screenshot of the credits in the latest version of iPhoto, v.1.0.1.

OpenStreetMap has been running for eight years as a volunteer-led project that aims to map the world and freely provide the data for those maps. The project began in response to the use by Google Maps of proprietary data that cannot be freely licensed.

The OSM data is made available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL), which means others can share, create and adapt the data, but only with attribution. Until very recently, it used a Creative Commons licence.