Google Maps is one of Google’s best and most popular apps and an application that Google often updates. Some of the improvements are significant additions to the app, like the Waze incident reports, the incognito mode, and AR navigation support, while others are much smaller in scope. The latest update may be seen as a minor upgrade, but it’s definitely the kind of privacy features a set of Google Maps users will definitely appreciate.
If you’re contributing to Google Maps, then you’ll now be able to customize your profile from right inside the app. And you’ll be able to do more things than before and better protect your privacy.
Before the new update, all you could do about your public profile from Maps was to check your Local Guides points. But Android Police noticed a server-side Maps update that lets you edit your profile and contributions.
A new Your profile item is available in the main menu of the app, and that’s where you’ll be able to edit your public name, change your photo, and even add a bio.
More importantly, the update lets you control ow your personal content is shown. You can choose to hide all your contributions to your profile, which might be a great idea. They will still appear on a place’s listing under your name, but your contributions won’t show on your public profile page.
Also, you can choose to make your profile invisible to businesses. And, as you can see in the screenshot above, you can customize location access and history, and delete location data, which are all great additions to Google Maps.
Google has been trying to make user privacy a thing when it comes to its products, even though user data is what fuels Google’s main money-maker. Google Maps is certainly one of them, especially following the reports last year that explained exactly how much access Google gets when requesting location tracking permissions.
The new Maps updates should make it even easier for the user to control the information they choose to share, both with Google and other Maps users. The new profile menu should be available to all Maps users soon.
