Slightly Big Brother? Google announces ‘social distancing tracking’ feature.
“He sees when you are sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you been good or bad
So be good for goodness sake”
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
CNBC reports: Google will release reports of population changes amid social distancing policies.
It will cover six categories including parks, grocery stores and homes.
It says it will show data of change over several weeks, and as recent as 48-to-72 hours prior.
The Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports website will show population data trends of six categories:
- Workplaces
- Residential
- Retail and recreation
- Grocery and pharmacy
- Parks
- Transit stations
Selected Disaster Products
The Google analysis will monitor changes over the course of several weeks, and as recent as 48-to-72 hours prior. Additionally, up to 131 countries, plus certain individual counties within certain states, will be reported.
Google indicates your personal data will be private since the data is collected in aggregate. The results won’t show absolute numbers of people showing up at parks or grocery stores. The idea instead is to outline percentages, which highlight potential surges in attendance.