Google is also committed to protecting Ukrainian users from Russian invasion. In the effect, Mountain View company recently announced that it is temporarily disabled real-time traffic data. These functions use anonymous location data collected on Android smartphones to indicate various information, such as road disturbances or frequent visits to a store or public transport.
After consulting with local authorities, Google Maps decided to delete this data to protect Ukrainian users from a threat. Possible tracking of this data by the Russian military. More specifically, this information could be used, for example, by Vladimir Putin’s troops to predict population movements.
Also read: Anonymous hacks several Russian media, hackers continue to attack
Google Maps disabled data to protect Ukrainians
An OSINT (Original Open Source Intelligence) researcher explains that he saw signs of a Russian invasion after pinpointing it last Thursday.traffic jam” Unusual on Google Maps on the border with Ukraine. “I think we were the first to see the invasion. And we saw it in a traffic app” He reassures Professor Jerry Lewis of the Middlebury Institute.
Also, Google adds It also suspends the dissemination of data on visits to public places.always in order to protect the Ukrainian population, be it shops, restaurants or public parks. Either way, it’s a smart move on the part of Google. It has been so in the past apps provide unexpected location information.
The Strava fitness app, released in 2017, offered a map of user activity. However, it turned out that he accidentally revealed the location of several American military bases, revealing the routes of the soldiers around the airports. As a reminder, many companies have already committed to helping Ukraine. This is the case of several French operators such as Free, SFR and Orange, which have reduced the prices of calls to the country. Even Tesla, which opened its Supercharger network for free in the borders of Ukraine.
Source: Boundary
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