Google protects Ukrainians by hiding this feature in Maps
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has temporarily disabled some features in Google Maps to protect citizens. These are features that provide live information about traffic conditions and how busy it is in different places.
These Google Maps features are temporarily disabled in Ukraine
Since 2016 you can see in Google Maps how busy it is somewhere, for example at shops and restaurants. In addition, in Maps you can also see how busy the traffic is on your route. Alphabet has disabled these functions worldwide in Ukraine, in consultation with regional authorities. The company does this to protect the civilian population. That says the search giant to Reuters. Motorists can still use navigation in the app.
Many apps show real-time data of people and their movements, which is sometimes very sensitive data. For example, the Strava sports app received a lot of criticism in 2018 because its Global Heatmap also showed data where soldiers were exercising. Displaying this sensitive information can cause major problems, especially in conflict zones. Google now wants to hide this sensitive data from the Russians to protect Ukrainians.
On February 24, hours before the actual raid, Maps showed a traffic jam from Russia to the Ukrainian border. Hours later, Ukraine faced attacks from Russian troops who invaded the country.
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