Google has introduced it’ll shut down the person follower function on Google Maps later this yr. The change, set to take impact in September, marks the tip of a social performance that allowed customers to comply with different people to view their public exercise, comparable to posted opinions, photographs, and movies. This choice comes after Google had already phased out a associated function earlier in January—the flexibility to comply with companies for updates on occasions and promotions.
The person follower system was launched in 2020 as an extension of the 2018 “Comply with” button function (launched in 2019 on iOS), which initially allowed customers to comply with companies. The objective was to make Google Maps a extra community-driven platform, including a social layer the place customers may have interaction with content material shared by others. Nevertheless, the follower function by no means gained widespread adoption and, in some instances, led to undesirable interactions, comparable to spam requests from bots.
With the upcoming removing, Google said that each one follower-related knowledge—each who customers comply with and who follows them—will likely be completely deleted from its servers. The visibility settings of person profiles will stay intact, however there’ll not be a must handle follower requests, particularly for these with restricted accounts. For a lot of customers, this may increasingly come as a aid because of the restricted engagement and occasional spam related to the function.
Google is encouraging customers taken with neighborhood interplay to transition to Native Guides Join, an official discussion board the place members can earn factors for contributing to Maps by writing opinions, submitting photographs, or modifying place data. This platform is extra centered on sensible engagement reasonably than social connections and continues to help listing creation and sharing.
In a separate growth, Google lately expanded its partnership with electrical car maker Rivian. Rivian’s vans and SUVs at the moment are adopting a brand new navigation system powered by the Google Maps Auto SDK, changing the previous system that used Mapbox. This replace supplies drivers with entry to real-time visitors knowledge and enhanced search capabilities for factors of curiosity, strengthening Google Maps’ position within the EV navigation house.
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