Googled a restaurant and saw it wasnt as busy as it normally is apparently. How does google know that?
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By allowing permissions on your phone, especially for games and apps. Some apps by Google are just location and GPS farming apps, apps like Pokemon Go and Ingress. Harry Potter WU and other Agmented Reality games from Google essentially serve the same purpose. Sounds like a conspiracy but is easy to look into.
It’s a combination of having location on and a Google account active. Most people don’t realize that once you open maps and give it access to your location, it tracks where you are at basically all times. I’m a Google local guide and do reviews for restaurants and local business so I’m totally aware and okay with cuz it’s not like I’m hanging out doing black market things in back alleys, or so they believe lol.
This technology saved me an hour wait at Krispy Kreme one night a few years back. They had one of their BOGO dozen deals and at 8:30PM Google said they were slammed so I didn’t go. An hour later it said the line slimmed down and when I got there they were serving the last three customers from a huge rush. I mentioned why I waited and the staff was also confused how Google knew they were so packed just an hour earlier.
Every single person with a glass slab is tracked.
Google knows exactly where you and every other android is. Apple knows where every single iToy is. Bet there is a way for someone with access to see both feeds.
Isn’t Snowden a cult hero or something?
Look on the bright side, you can ask siri or goog to turn the lights on.
Same way they do road traffic, by how much “Google” is in the area. This can be phones, a browser or account or just about anything by google
The thing no one has mentioned here is cell phone providers share their data. It’s most likely not your Google app or GPS, but cell phone towers being used to triangulate your position.
The other item in play here is wifi ssid mapping. Your phone can figure out where you are with scary accuracy, just based on the wifi networks around you.
When people are in the restaurant their phones are on.
Google knows their phones are on and knows where they are.
They report that to you.
Google gathers real-time information about the busyness of a restaurant through various sources and technologies. One of the primary methods used by Google is through user-generated data and location services. Here’s how it works:
1. **Location Services**: When you use Google Maps or other location-based services on your smartphone, Google collects anonymous location data from millions of users. By analyzing the density of people with active location services at a particular place, Google can estimate how busy that location is in real time.
2. **Popular Times Feature**: Google Maps provides a “Popular Times” feature, which uses historical data and aggregated location information to show when a place is typically busy or less crowded. This data is compiled from past user visits to the restaurant at different times and days of the week.
3. **User Reviews**: Google collects reviews and ratings from users who visit restaurants. People often mention the busy times in their reviews, which helps to build an understanding of the restaurant’s busyness during specific hours.
4. **Check-In Data**: Some users actively “check-in” to restaurants using Google Maps or other social platforms. This data provides insights into how many people are currently present at a particular restaurant.
5. **Reservations and Wait Times**: If a restaurant is integrated with Google’s reservation or waitlist services, Google can access real-time data on how many reservations have been made or the estimated wait times.
6. **Partnered Data**: Google may also collaborate with certain restaurant management software providers or other data partners who share real-time occupancy data to enhance their information accuracy.
Android phone users, and non-Android phone users with certain Google apps, whose location is being tracked. Even though a few users opt out of location tracking, the remaining is enough to give a generally accurate estimate.
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