Big G has finally started releasing incognito mode on Maps. Easy to activate, but it doesn't protect against 360° tracking
After much criticism, and after many explicit requests from authorities halfway around the world (especially European), Google is taking a few steps forward to better guarantee the privacy of its users and their control over their own data.
The Mountaint View giant, in fact, announced some changes in the Maps and YouTube apps, as well as the arrival of new voice commands on Assistant dedicated to privacy management and, finally, better password management. The most striking news is the arrival of Incognito mode on Google Maps, after Chrome and YouTube. Thanks to this mode it will be possible to search for places and set up the navigator without leaving any traces. But the limitations are not lacking and this feature will initially be released only for Android users. As we know, in fact, on iOS the management of privacy and data collected by apps is strictly regulated and limited by Apple's operating system, so any change in this sense requires a specific work.
Google Maps: new Incognito Mode
Born on Chrome in 2008, then arrived on YouTube in early 2019, now the Incognito Mode also lands on Google Maps. It will be possible to activate it in a very simple way: just tap on the icon of our profile, in the upper right corner, and select "Activate Incognito Mode". From that moment on, the app will no longer keep track of what we do, and the Maps user experience will be stripped of any reference to our previous searches, the places we visit, and there will be no personalized suggestions about businesses nearby. Incognito Mode is not yet available on Italian apps, it will gradually arrive by the end of October on all Android smartphones.
Google Maps Incognito: the limits
It should be noted that the anonymity offered by Incognito Mode on Maps only works on Maps: all other apps, from Google and other developers, that track our location via access to Google Play Services, will not be affected in the slightest by a user's choice to use Maps Incognito. The advantage for the user looking for privacy, therefore, is very relative because much of the data that are collected on our position do not come from the use of Google Maps but from other apps to which, among the thousands of permissions required, we have granted also that of accessing data on our position.