Google Maps Gets New Privacy-Focused Features And Makes ‘Blue Dot’ More Functional – News18

Google Maps is a quintessential a part of day by day lives—be it for navigating to a spot you haven’t been to earlier than, to test how busy a restaurant is, or just to scout a spot earlier than you go to it utilizing the Street View function.

Most of Google Maps’ options are depending on location information, and the corporate has made certain that you’ve got management over it due to instruments like incognito mode and auto-delete, however the search large is now doubling down on giving customers extra management.

In a brand new weblog publish, Google says that it’s bringing the power to save lots of your location timeline in your gadget, delete exercise from particular locations, and the power to faucet the blue dot in maps to see issues like whether or not location historical past is on, and what entry Google Maps has.

On-Device Timeline And Encrypted Online Backups

This function will be certain that your timeline is saved proper in your gadget itself—supplying you with extra management over your information. Like earlier than, you may nonetheless delete it solely, components of it, or disable it.

However, by default, Google will now retailer as much as solely 3 months of timeline information, and this may be additional elevated as nicely. Or you may also select to make an encrypted backup if the identical to retailer on-line, and it received’t depend in the direction of your Google account storage.

Delete Activity Related To Specific Places

As you’d have guessed, this enables customers to delete visits to a particular place, searches you made, and even instructions. This goes to be rolling out to Android and iOS customers within the coming weeks.

Blue Dot Becomes Functional

The blue dot reveals you the place you’re on maps however now it brings over location-based management proper inside your attain. “Just tap it, and at a glance, you’ll see whether your Location History or Timeline settings are turned on and whether you’ve given Maps access to your device’s location,” Google stated. This, too, could be rolled out to each iOS and Android customers within the coming weeks.