Google Maps Gauges How Busy a Place Is Using Anonymous Timeline Data

For individual establishments such as restaurants, hotels, stores and coffee shops, Google measures the density of devices in one place and compares it with typical traffic as a benchmark to work out how many people are inside. Popular times, usual wait times and average visit durations are then derived from historical data gathered over the previous few weeks, according to Engadget. The results are displayed as a graph showing hours when a business is likely to be slow and hours when queues may reach the door.

Visit duration gives users a sense of how long people typically spend at a venue, which Engadget notes is useful for planning a day around a museum or similar attraction, while wait times help determine whether a restaurant or other service business fits a tight schedule. Google Maps also lets users chat with the app to order food, reserve hotels and carry out other tasks.

Google calculates crowding for whole areas as well, a function aimed at outdoor events. Tapping the "Busy area" label brings up a chart of the times of day a space is usually busiest, along with a directory of nearby businesses. The company builds this picture by combining the information it holds on locations within that locale, including stores, restaurants and parks; it does not capture data from private residences. Because Google must collect enough visitor data before the feature can be shown, area-level busyness is generally limited to high-traffic zones such as tourist towns or festival sites.

Google says the data is always private and never reveals the identity of individuals or the total number of people at a location. Google Maps only tells users whether a place is not busy, busy, or so busy that it is probably not worth the hassle.

Opting into Google Timeline means the company is effectively tracking a user's activity continuously, Engadget notes, and the same information feeds other functions beyond busyness estimates. Google Maps and its sister app Waze use similar techniques to track traffic patterns and recommend driving routes. Users who prefer not to take part can turn off Google Timeline, which stops their contribution to the company's data collection.