Google disables Maps traffic data in Ukraine to protect citizens

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT — Ukrainian Territorial Defence fighters patrol the streets after the fight in Kharkiv on February 27, 2022 | Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images

Google has temporarily disabled live traffic features offered by Google Maps in Ukraine to protect users’ safety as the country is invaded by neighboring Russia.

The features use anonymous location data collected from Android smartphones to show where there are traffic delays on roads and which businesses and stores are busy. Experts say such data could offer insight into the progress of the invasion. One open source intelligence (OSINT) expert said he saw signs of the Russian invasion early last Thursday after spotting unusual “traffic jams” at the Ukrainian border on Google Maps.

“I think we were the first people to see the invasion,” OSINT expert, Professor Jerry Lewis of the Middlebury Institute, told Motherboard last week. “And we...

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