Few would equate human life with battery life, but for many migrants escaping war or famine, a single percentage point of battery can mean getting the right information at the right time – or not surviving at all. Smartphones today have become an integral part of a forced migrant’s journey. From navigating mountains in Central […]
View More When battery life saves human lifeCategory: Google-Maps
Google tracks you even if you turn off ‘location history’: report
So, you’ve turned off Location History on your phone in an effort to maintain your privacy and limit the amount of data you share with the big tech companies. Well, it turns out Google may still be tracking your movements.
An AP investigation published Monday discovered that some of Google’s many different services are still tracking users’ every move on both iPhone and Android phones regardless of whether they’ve toggled the “Location History” setting on or off.
SEE ALSO: Google never really left China: a look at the Chinese website Google’s been quietly running
When using a service like Google Maps, Google will ask you to permit access to your iPhone or Android phone’s location data. When agreeing to this request, you allow Google Maps to record your location history, and display your location history on a timeline so you can view your daily travels. Read more…
More about Google, Iphone, Android, Google Maps, and Location Tracking
View More Google tracks you even if you turn off ‘location history’: reportJerry Seinfeld hypes his Netflix series with Google Maps reviews and dad jokes
“I was in our Nation’s Capital and there’s only one place to eat when you’re in our Nation’s Capital. But they were closed.”
Jerry Seinfeld is currently in pop culture’s good graces thanks to his excellent web-turned-Netflix series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. And now, to help spread the word, he’s started leaving restaurant reviews on Google Maps based on the establishments his visits with his guests.
The reviews started to surface in the first week of August, and only four have been posted so far (compared to more than 70 episodes overall, and the 12 since the show became a Netflix production). It’s a nifty bit of promotion further enhanced by Seinfeld’s comedic sensibilities. Read more…
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View More Jerry Seinfeld hypes his Netflix series with Google Maps reviews and dad jokesZooming out on Google Maps no longer shows a flat map
Take a look at a map today, and you might think North America is larger than Africa or Greenland is larger than Mexico and China.
But that’s not true in the slightest. The issue derives from trying to represent a three-dimensional world on a tw…
Google Maps is no longer #flatearth
Go to Google Maps and zoom out. Halfway out, the map’s perspective changes from a traditional flat map view to an interactive globe. Zoom all the way out and the Earth is presented as a globe with landmasses of the appropriate size. Greenland is no longer the size of Africa and all is right with […]
View More Google Maps is no longer #flatearthGoogle Maps can now share your battery level with friends
Google Maps has been rolling out features left and right over the past few weeks, but recently eagle-eyed users spotted something new.
Now when you let a friend know where you are through the Google Maps app, another icon is included with your locati…
Google Maps’ location sharing will now share your phone’s battery status, too
Early in 2017, Google added a feature to Google Maps that lets you opt to share your location in (near) real time with your close friends and family. Now they’re fleshing out that info with another important little detail: your phone’s remaining battery charge.
View More Google Maps’ location sharing will now share your phone’s battery status, tooGoogle Maps on iOS can now ‘match’ you with restaurants
Figuring out where to eat has never been easier.
Google Maps on iOS has been updated Tuesday with a feature that shows you how well you “match” with a restaurant.
Once you’ve updated Google Maps on iOS to the latest version, the feature will automatically show as a “match” percentage on restaurants you find on Google Maps.
Google says the score is calculated “based on your unique preferences.” When the feature was first announced, in May, Google gave a bit more thorough explanation.
“We use machine learning to generate this number, based on a few factors: what we know about a business, the food and drink preferences you’ve selected in Google Maps, places you’ve been to, and whether you’ve rated a restaurant or added it to a list. Your matches change as your own tastes and preferences evolve over time—it’s like your own expert sidekick, helping you quickly assess your options and confidently make a decision,” the company said at the time. Read more…
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View More Google Maps on iOS can now ‘match’ you with restaurantsGoogle Drive will hit a billion users this week
Google loves to talk about how it has seven products with more than a billion users. Those are its flagship search service, Gmail, Chrome, Google Maps, YouTube, Android and the Google Play Store. Indeed, Android actually has more than 2 billion users now. Later this week, we will be able to add an eighth service […]
View More Google Drive will hit a billion users this weekGoogle Street View captures very confused cat hanging out in Rome
If something weird is captured on Google Street View, someone on the internet is bound to find it. Bonus points if it’s a cute animal.
That’s because, while there are plenty of weird and wacky moments well documented in the various lists we’ve created, Google is constantly updating Street View for accuracy. Due to the constant influx of revised images, every so often the internet will discover a new little Easter egg in the Google Street View world.
This time, it’s an adorable close-up of a cat.
It seems as if Redditor u/Belocity first discovered two cats — including the one with the perfect expression, above — hanging out on a ledge near some Roman ruins. Read more…
More about Cats, Google Maps, Google Street View, Culture, and Web Culture
View More Google Street View captures very confused cat hanging out in RomeApple Maps is getting a complete redesign
Apple Maps is finally getting the redesign it needs.
In a deep dive with TechCrunch, Apple detailed the lengths it’s gone to over the past few years to rebuild its maps app, which will make its (limited) public debut next week.
According to the report, the new app will be available to iOS 12 beta users in the San Francisco Bay Area next week and will expand to all of Northern California later this year. It’s not clear how long the full global rollout might take.
SEE ALSO: How to make the perfect Memoji in iOS 12
So what’s going to be different with the new Apple Maps? The short answer is just about everything. Because Apple has spent the last couple years gathering and parsing its own maps data — it’s no longer relying on data from third-party partners — the company now has much more detailed physical information about the world. Read more…
More about Tech, Apple, Iphone, Google Maps, and Apple Maps
View More Apple Maps is getting a complete redesignThese extremely good Google Maps features that everyone definitely wanted are finally sort of available
For all of you who’ve been holding your breath this past month, it’s finally time to exhale: On Tuesday, Google rolled out some of the hotly anticipated new Maps features the company announced in May.
And by “rolled out,” we mean “some people got them but a lot of people didn’t.” And by “hotly anticipated,” we mean, um, “lists of trending restaurants generated by a Google algorithm.”
“Indulge your inner foodie on Android by automatically keeping track of your progress against any of the restaurants featured in the trending lists,” Google explained in a blog post. “So if you’re on a mission to try the 10 best tacos in your area and you’ve only tried 5, Google Maps will note that for you so you can get to the tacos pronto.” Read more…
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View More These extremely good Google Maps features that everyone definitely wanted are finally sort of available