Google has announced a new feature in its Search and Maps services that enables Black Friday shoppers to know how busy a store is in real time.
Dubbed "crowd control", the live feature comes on the back of the company's Popular Times feature, introduced last year, that lets users check how busy a place typically is at different times of the week.
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Just in time for the Black Friday swarms, we're adding a real-time look at how crowded a place is right now, to help you decide where and when to go. Whether you’re rushing to pick up a last minute gift or seeking a lively bar for some festive spirit, check Popular Times for a sneak preview of what to expect when you arrive.
The feature works by crowd-sourcing anonymized location data from other Google users and also feeds in Google searches to analyze how busy a location is at any given moment.
In addition, Google is also introducing a new way of checking how long people typically stay at a particular location, thereby allowing users to plan their itinerary ahead of time and to the minute.
The features augment the services' existing location information, which also now includes individual department and service hours for stores, businesses, restaurants. The added times are meant to help users know what time they can, say, use the pharmacy at the local drugstore or supermarket, or to find out what time food delivery begins at a nearby restaurant.
Many retailers offer steep discounts on popular items on Black Friday in order to attract customers, with Apple products frequently being included in these sales. To keep track of all the best Apple-related deals, be sure to visit MacRumors' Black Friday roundup page.
Top Rated Comments
[doublepost=1479910844][/doublepost]2 of 9 responses calling this 'alarming' is Apple fanboys 'losing their minds'? You really have a low bar for determining that people are losing their minds.
"If you have Location Services turned on, the location of your device and the approximate date and time of the transaction may be sent anonymously to Apple." - Apple Pay Security Guide
Or when Apple wants to make money serving up an iAd:
And so that Google can provide more contextual assistance to the user. If you don't want it, simply go to your Google dashboard and turn it off.
So do the banks. So does Apple with iAds. So do stores when they get a zip code. Or when we use a store rewards card.
It's the modern equivalent of when the general store workers knew everyone in town, what they liked, when they liked to buy it, and giving a deal on things sometimes.
If you are afraid of giving such info in return for perks, turn it all off and stop using their services.
Neither does Google, nor other mainstream companies. That's why ads are served up anonymously. Ad targeting only makes continuous money if the target info is kept secret.
Too many people are so caught up in this faux Apple-Google compete thing, that they ignore the REAL threats from the hundreds of far lesser known entities who DO actually collect and do sell our info.