Life

Chrissy Teigen Just Discovered The Creepiest Thing About Your iPhone Photos App

by Kyli Rodriguez-Cayro
BARCELONA, SPAIN - JANUARY 28:  A journalist takes a pictures with her iPhone smartphone during a re...
Miquel Benitez/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Well, artificial intelligence just got a little stranger, according to Chrissy Teigen's Twitter. If you have an iPhone, you may want to grab it and do a quick search of the word “brassiere” in your Photos app. Apparently, Apple categorizes your nudes under this bizarre keyword in the Photos App, and even includes photos that have anything to do with bras or breasts. Though the feature seems to be pretty accurate for, you know, actual pics of your brassieres, iPhone users have reported the “brassiere folder” miscategorizes some photos, including pictures of strappy dresses and people at the beach. If you have an iOS 10 or above, then you definitely have a “Brassiere Folder” that you simply didn’t know about.

Though Twitter user @ellieeewbu pointed out the "brassiere" tag early on Oct. 30, the news rose to prominence when model and undisputed Twitter queen Chrissy Teigen tweeted, “It's true. If you type in ‘brassiere’ in the search of your iPhotos, it has a category for every boob or cleavage pic you've ever taken. Why,” on Oct. 31. Teigen also added, “Typing food will get you food but penis won't get you penis and boobs won't get you boobs. Just brassiere. *strokes beard*”

Even though the feature has risen to prominence over the last few days, the iOS update that allows Apple products to automatically create a “brassiere” folder has been around since June 2016. Many people who are not Chrissy Teigen have strong feelings about the kinda invasive feature. Other Twitter users had LOL-worthy responses to the “brassiere folder,” saying things like “welcome to a folder of your tit shots.” (And, I mean, they aren’t wrong.) Another person added, “The iPhone brassiere thing is weird, but I didn't even know bra was short for that.” Whether you think photo app feature is cringe-worthy, hilarious, or bizarre, you’re not alone.

Though the “brassiere folder” is def a little unsettling, in terms of how it affects your privacy, you may feel a bit comforted knowing the tag is part of a larger Photos App update that allows your phone recognize over 4.432 objects and scenes. Additionally, the app can differentiate between seven different facial expressions, including greedy, disgust, "neutral," scream, smiling, surprise, and suspicious. You could search any one of the thousands of tags, and your phone will pull up an album with photos that the software has deemed relevant to one of those tags. While this may be a little overwhelming for those of us who aren’t that into tech, the feature is just an expanded version of the same old facial and object recognition that’s existed for a while, which also allows your iPhone (or Facebook, for that matter) to group your photos by person in the shot. Basically, your iPhone is able to categorize your nudes using the same technology that allows Snapchat to map your face for filters, or that some employers use to more accurately track employees’ work hours. Instead of identifying your face, however it’s just identifying your body parts — and, apparently, some things that have nothing to do with brassieres whatsoever but, you know, live and learn.

Even if the fact that your phone is sorting your private photos creeps you out, Apple ensures that all objection detection done locally on the device through the iOS. So, you don’t have to be worried that those pictures are any less safe or protected because of this feature, although if this does have you worried about privacy, now may be the time to delete them off your iPhone and save them somewhere truly off the grid. All-in-all, the “Brassiere Folder” may feel a bit disturbing, but it’s nothing to get your knickers in a twist about.