![]() ![]() Waze successfully cracked a way to encourage users to report traffic incidents and hazards ahead of Google, and Google bought the solution. This all ended with the acquisition of Waze in 2013. The reason for this is pretty simple it didn’t have a reliable way to source car crash data on the fly. Google Maps didn’t originally report car crashes, at least not reliably. How Does Google Maps Know About Car Crashes? ![]() However, you’ll also be unable to use most of the navigation help services with Google Maps. If you’d rather not help build Google’s insanely accurate traffic information and estimates, you can always leave your location services off. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a driver that doesn’t run Google Maps, and the more Google Maps users out there, the better Google’s estimates will be. While other navigation apps can access some of these sources, the sheer volume of Googlers makes their estimations insanely accurate. Since Google now owns Waze, it can use information that users report on the app to improve its estimates on Google Maps, giving the most accurate information of most navigation apps out there. Users can also report accidents, police checkpoints, traffic jams, and other similar information to warn unsuspecting drivers before the fact. Waze works by collecting several traffic-related information from users. Even people who aren’t so tech-savvy know that your GPS can’t tell if you get in an accident so, how does Google get hold of this information?Īll of these are thanks to Waze, a service that Google acquired back in 2013. ![]() Google Maps doesn’t only tell you how much traffic is ahead of you it also tells you when an accident has happened ahead of you. If Google uses the sensors exclusively, it will be impossible to recommend alternate routes with less traffic, as they don’t have any sensors to make it work. However, traffic sensors are increasingly becoming obsolete, as they’re expensive to install and thereby only make it to the most important streets. The data collected from these sensors are transmitted to the servers of these government agencies and are made available to the general public.įrom this public information, Google programmatically pulls out some useful information about the current state of traffic to help drivers using Google Maps. The traffic sensors are usually installed by government agencies to check the volume and speed of traffic in real-time. The sheer number of drawbacks to predicting traffic from the sensors makes it a far less reliable option than using anonymized location data from users. This method is pretty dated and is increasingly less popular over the years. This method makes up most of Google’s knowledge of real-time traffic information. If many drivers using Google Maps converge at a specific area, Google deduces that it’s a traffic hold up, and that’s how they provide meaningful traffic data by crowdsourcing. Since you agree to this, Google is free to use your anonymized location data to provide real-time traffic information to drivers using Google Maps, and the traffic information you see is also a collection of traffic information from other drivers. By using Google Maps, you automatically agree to share your location services for diagnostic services and to improve the app. It’s common knowledge that you must turn on the location services on your smartphone to use Google Maps effectively how else is it going to know your location otherwise?īut Google Maps uses your location for things far more complicated than telling your real-time location. Harvesting Users’ Real-time Location Data.Here are some of the data sources that Google uses to determine the traffic information that helps you drive on Google Maps. An aggregate of the data collected over these several platforms is what determines your real-time traffic condition. Google uses several methods to collect data to compile traffic information for the Google Maps app. Many other drivers also wonder how Google keeps tabs on traffic conditions and share them with drivers in real-time, and also with insane accuracy. If you’ve ever been awed due to the accuracy of Google Maps, you’re not alone. ![]()
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