You know that annoying “passht” camera shutter sound your phone makes whenever you take a picture? Well, in Japan, you can’t mute it, not even if you switch to mute mode! Here’s why.

Back in early 2000, when Kyocera VP-210 was launched, Japan became the first country to sell camera equipped phones. These phones also had the ability to send photos via email (pretty astonishing for 2000, isn’t it?). When users started to get used to them and learned how to attach pictures to an email, a big problem started to emerge: as any citizen of a civilized society would do, people started using their camera to take up-skirt photos of women, especially in crowded places like trains!

By 2001, this was already a matter of online discussion and, because no legal provision has been taken by the government, wireless carriers took it upon themselves. In order to prevent secret filming and ensure privacy, carriers made it a requirement that all phones sold in Japan must be customized for the market so that all built-in cameras cannot be muted.

Phone producers and Japanese wireless carriers have cooperated ever since so that all phones make a distinct sound whenever you use the camera.

Main Article Photo: Rebrn.com, iPhone Photography School

Photoshop: I’m A Useless Info Junkie

Sources: Japan’s noisy iPhone problem | In Japan, Phone Camera Shutter Sounds Can’t Be Muted to Prevent Upskirt Photography



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