Google Maps massively expands its mass transit crowd-reporting service - Ars Technica

Today, Google announced a major expansion of its ability to warn users of crowded mass transit ahead of time.

"We apply world-class anonymization technology and differential privacy techniques to Location History Data to make sure your data remains private and secure," the announcement declares—although we must point out that attempts to anonymize location data frequently fail.

Google says its mass transit crowd reporting lets users know whether their transit line is likely to "have lots of open seats, hit full capacity, or be anywhere or in between," letting users make a more informed decision about whether to "hop on board or wait for another train." In New York and Sydney, the program is piloting even deeper information, offering live crowdedness information "right down to the transit car level." Today's announcement also notes that across the USA, mass transit is less crowded after morning rush hour and prior to evening rush hour—information unlikely to surprise anyone who uses mass transit regularly.

Maps is also upgrading its Timeline feature to include mass transit travel history, letting users know how much time they've spent and distance they've traveled via mass transit, walking, driving, and more.

If you don't like that feature—or don't trust Google's "world-class anonymization technology"—you can disable your Android device's Location History entirely.