Apple develops ability to kill iPhone cameras at live events

The iPhones of the future may be a bit less fun to play with at rock shows.

The tech giant has won a patent for a new technology that uses an infrared signal — beamed from a concert, theater stage or movie screen — to shut down an iPhone’s camera, disabling it from taking photos or videos.

The technology under development may be a response to gripes from artists like Adele and Jack White, miffed that fans have used their phones to broadcast shows live to thousands of other, non-paying viewers.

Concert promoters Live Nation and AEG declined to comment on the technology, along with White’s agent, Robby Fraser at WME Entertainment.

Apple’s patent filing this week indicates that video functions would only be disabled by the infrared sensors if an iPhone is pointed toward their positions on the stage.

That way, users would still be able to snap photos and shoot videos of their friends in the crowd.

Apple also suggested that the infrared signals could be used in other scenarios to enhance what users see on their screens, providing extra information on artworks at museums or products at stores, for example.

Sports fans also have used live-streaming apps such as Periscope to broadcast from games — a practice that got temporarily banned by the NFL until early this year.

The patent’s approval — as is the case with hundreds of other Apple patents— won’t necessarily mean a future rollout of the feature.