4 ms·

I enjoy how they keep saying private as a f you to Google Maps. I’ll give Maps a try again, the privacy is a good enticement for me.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
Google maps near me is riddled with advertisements now. Promoted pins or whatever they call it. Of course, it’s for stores that I won’t ever have a need to visit.
- chungus_khan 7y ago
  There's also a whole tab of the navigate view that's just an advert for Uber, which I don't really appreciate.
  - jefftk 7y ago
    On my device I see a tab for ride hailing services, which is showing me choices for Uber and Lyft. I like it a lot, since I'm often choosing between walking, public transit, and Uber/Lyft. It makes it really easy to compare options. (Disclosure: I work for Google)
    - tomrod 7y ago
      Sounds like an opportunity for unsolicited feedback! I second parent commentator.
  - kaishiro 7y ago
    As another piece of anecdata, I actually _do_ appreciate this tab. In the states it brings up Uber and Lyft for me, and traveling through JP I would also get Didi. Was nice to see what the price difference would be compared to public transit options.
- unlinked_dll 7y ago
  The final straw that got me to ditch android was Google sending me push notifications asking me to review places I've been to, via maps. If you want reviews, pay secret shoppers. And if you want me to use your app, don't make it painfully obvious you're spying on exactly where I go and when to do what.
  - soylentcola 7y ago
    I think it was more a way to crowdsource reviews and recommendation engine. It's certainly worth questioning the use of "unpaid labor" to improve a service, but I don't know if I'd call it "spying". Use of the service essentially boils down to "I tell it where I am/where I want to go. It tells me how best to get there/how to find the thing I want to find." I'm not sure how you would do that if you didn't share your location and destination/search terms with it. But yeah, I disabled that thing too. Not because I considered a request for reviews a terrible overreach, but because it wasn't just in the Maps app, but rather a notification. I disable notifications on most non-messaging apps because they're annoying and naggy.
    - unlinked_dll 7y ago
      The issue for me is that it would ask me to review places I didn't ask for directions to. It would notice I had gone through a drive through and ask me to review the restaurant. It would ask me to review a furniture store I walked past on my way to work. I don't want an app passively collecting data on me while I'm not using it.
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    I felt it was significantly more creepy when I received "How is <tourist attraction>?" messages at home. I can see the building from my window, but I didn't like being told. I've had the location history disabled since it was possible to disable it, but I've since disabled all the notifications.
- chrisjc 7y ago
  My favorite feature of Google maps is asking how i rate the directions before I get there. You know, right at the last mile while you're still trying to get where you're going.
  - hnick 7y ago
    My favourite is sending me through a $6 toll to save 2 minutes. Sorry we're not all on valley pay rates here Google ;)
- djanogo 7y ago
  If you share more personal data then they can make it more personalized. /s
spacegod 7y ago
Its BS too. Source: I'm an ex Maps employee.
- wonderment 7y ago
  What's BS? More details please?
hnick 7y ago
I had google assistant turned off but every now and then when using maps my phone would say out loud something like "Sorry I don't know how to help with <thing_we_just_said>". I couldn't find an easy way to turn it off in the app. All directions online lead to options that were already off. So like other users I had to restrict microphone access to google services entirely. I have no idea if it's still listening.

lotsofpulp 7y ago

Google maps near me is riddled with advertisements now. Promoted pins or whatever they call it. Of course, it’s for stores that I won’t ever have a need to visit.

chungus_khan 7y ago
There's also a whole tab of the navigate view that's just an advert for Uber, which I don't really appreciate.
- jefftk 7y ago
  On my device I see a tab for ride hailing services, which is showing me choices for Uber and Lyft. I like it a lot, since I'm often choosing between walking, public transit, and Uber/Lyft. It makes it really easy to compare options. (Disclosure: I work for Google)
  - tomrod 7y ago
    Sounds like an opportunity for unsolicited feedback! I second parent commentator.
- kaishiro 7y ago
  As another piece of anecdata, I actually _do_ appreciate this tab. In the states it brings up Uber and Lyft for me, and traveling through JP I would also get Didi. Was nice to see what the price difference would be compared to public transit options.
unlinked_dll 7y ago
The final straw that got me to ditch android was Google sending me push notifications asking me to review places I've been to, via maps. If you want reviews, pay secret shoppers. And if you want me to use your app, don't make it painfully obvious you're spying on exactly where I go and when to do what.
- soylentcola 7y ago
  I think it was more a way to crowdsource reviews and recommendation engine. It's certainly worth questioning the use of "unpaid labor" to improve a service, but I don't know if I'd call it "spying". Use of the service essentially boils down to "I tell it where I am/where I want to go. It tells me how best to get there/how to find the thing I want to find." I'm not sure how you would do that if you didn't share your location and destination/search terms with it. But yeah, I disabled that thing too. Not because I considered a request for reviews a terrible overreach, but because it wasn't just in the Maps app, but rather a notification. I disable notifications on most non-messaging apps because they're annoying and naggy.
  - unlinked_dll 7y ago
    The issue for me is that it would ask me to review places I didn't ask for directions to. It would notice I had gone through a drive through and ask me to review the restaurant. It would ask me to review a furniture store I walked past on my way to work. I don't want an app passively collecting data on me while I'm not using it.
- Symbiote 7y ago
  I felt it was significantly more creepy when I received "How is <tourist attraction>?" messages at home. I can see the building from my window, but I didn't like being told. I've had the location history disabled since it was possible to disable it, but I've since disabled all the notifications.
chrisjc 7y ago
My favorite feature of Google maps is asking how i rate the directions before I get there. You know, right at the last mile while you're still trying to get where you're going.
- hnick 7y ago
  My favourite is sending me through a $6 toll to save 2 minutes. Sorry we're not all on valley pay rates here Google ;)
djanogo 7y ago
If you share more personal data then they can make it more personalized. /s

spacegod 7y ago

Its BS too. Source: I'm an ex Maps employee.

wonderment 7y ago
What's BS? More details please?

hnick 7y ago

I had google assistant turned off but every now and then when using maps my phone would say out loud something like "Sorry I don't know how to help with <thing_we_just_said>". I couldn't find an easy way to turn it off in the app. All directions online lead to options that were already off. So like other users I had to restrict microphone access to google services entirely. I have no idea if it's still listening.