Navigating on Google Maps requires you to crowdsource the data



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Google Maps users on Android and iOS today see a new prompt that explicitly allows the app to crowdsource their “navigation data”. Notably, the live step-by-step navigation will only work if you agree.

This dialog provides a high level overview of how “How Navigation Data Improves Maps” and is displayed after you press “Start” on the Routes page.

As you browse, Google collects details, such as the GPS position and the route you have taken. This data can be used to make information, including real-time traffic conditions and disturbances, visible to others and help them find the fastest route.

Maps has always used this location data – along with the mode of transport and sensor, like barometer, data from your device – to deliver real-time information, with Google saying last September that it is over a billion miles away. are “traveled” with the app every day. the world. This body of “navigation data” enables further route options, traffic conditions and ETAs, as well as turn-by-turn navigation.

The company now explicitly sets the powers of the latter ability to end users and asks them to agree to crowdsourcing to use it. This is likely related to the “we’re protecting your privacy” message that started in I / O 2021. As of May, Gmail, Photos, and Drive have all displayed in-app banners emphasizing privacy.

If you do not agree – ie selecting “Cancel” – to provide your data, you will not get detailed live navigation with voice feedback, eg turn left. [X] Street. Instead, users will be presented with step-by-step instructions (as seen at right) as a static list. “Learn more” links to a support document.

Overall, this is a simple requirement to use a modern free mapping app. Google notes that the navigation data on the map is not “associated with your Google account or device”. There is no change in the way things work beyond explicitation of the implicit exchange. This “navigation data” prompt is just beginning to appear to Google Maps users on Android and iOS today.

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