Apple and Google have disabled traffic data on their maps in Israel and the Gaza Strip

Traffic data offered by Google Maps is no longer available in Israel and the Gaza Strip.as confirmed by the company Bloomberg. According to the Israeli portal GeekTimeApple did the same with its mapping service; presumably at the request of the Israel Defense Forces.

“As we have done previously in conflict situations and in response to developing situations in the region, We have temporarily disabled the ability to view real-time traffic conditions and activity information. out of concern for the safety of local communities,” a Google spokesperson explained to Bloomberg.

At the moment, yes, both Google Maps and Waze (owned by Google). allow citizens to build routes taking into account current traffic conditions. That is, they will be able to see, for example, the actual duration of the trip, rather than real-time traffic data; for example, if the road is busy, if there are road works, etc.

Inability to view traffic data in Google Maps and Apple Maps applications, Apparently, it was carried out at the request of the Israel Defense Forces.who fear that Hamas could use this information to track the movements of Israeli military forces.

Apple and Google did the same during the Ukrainian war

This is Google and Apple’s decision also took place in October 2022., in the midst of the war between Russia and Ukraine. According to reports, this data could have been useful to Russian troops during the invasion of Ukraine, as this way they could avoid closed or busy roads for those citizens who fled their homes due to the attack.

There were also concerns that the Russians could use this information to detect Ukrainian military activities. Therefore, Google decided to disable this feature, which has been present in its service for many years.

Interestingly, given the inability to correctly use Google Maps and Apple Maps, Ukrainian citizens used Find My, a service for locating objects and Apple devices, to find the Russian military who were stealing their devices. They later reported their location to the Ukrainian military. Remember that Find Me allows you to find accessories like AirPods even if they’re not connected to a Wi-Fi network. This is because they privately connect to other devices using an ultra-wide range of frequencies, sending the owner’s exact location.