Google Maps can now scan your iPhone screenshots to save forgotten places,
but that gives me privacy chills

Date:
Thu, 08 May 2025 10:07:33 +0000

Description:
Google Maps can now pick out places from your screenshots and add them to a location list.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Google Maps has a new location-scanning feature for your screenshots It searches screenshots for places, then adds them to a private list There could be privacy concerns with this new feature

If you frequently find yourself screenshotting locations and then looking
them up afterwards, theres a new feature in the Google Maps iOS app that
could help save you time.

In a blog post , Google detailed the feature, which is available now
(although it had been revealed about a month ago ). The feature sees Google use its own Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) to scan your screenshots and add any locations mentioned in the images to a new private list in Google Maps.

Right now, it appears that Google Maps scans your images for text mentioning
a place name, rather than looking up the location data itself that's been saved to the pictures or using image recognition. That's a bit limiting for now, but it's surely the first step towards more powerful version.

You can find the new private list in the You tab in the Google Maps app. Provided you have the latest Google Maps update, youll find a private list labeled Screenshots, alongside a tutorial on how to use the new feature.

The Screenshots folder will show a list of recent images that contain
location names. You can then tap a Review button to see the place that Google has detected in the image. If youre happy it has the right place, you can tap Save; otherwise, tap Dont Save. The app will then show you the saved location on a map.

Theres also an auto-scan aspect to this. If you grant Google permission, the app will be able to scan all of your screenshots in order to detect
locations. Or you can add images manually, if you prefer. Privacy concerns (Image credit: Google)

Given Googles arguably shoddy record when it comes to user privacy , the idea of allowing the company to scan my library of screenshots and log my location information feels pretty uncomfortable to me.

Chances are this location data will be sent to Googles servers, where theres the potential for it to be processed, sold, and used to profile you all things that Googles business model is built upon.

Beyond the privacy concerns, I wonder how much utility a feature like this would add in the first place. On iOS, you can tap and hold on any text and then look it up on the web, which applies to things like addresses and place names. That means its already quick and easy to find information on places youve screenshotted, without Google Maps latest update.

Still, just because Im not sold on it, that doesnt mean that no one else will find Googles latest idea useful. If you want to try it out for yourself, make sure you download the latest Google Maps version on iOS the feature will apparently come to the best Android phones at a later date. You might also like Google Hotels now lets you track prices, and I can't wait to use it for my next trip Google Maps is getting two key upgrades, for easier route planning and quicker access to Gemini AI Profit over privacy? Google gives advertisers more personal info in major fingerprinting U-turn



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/google-maps-can-now-scan-your-iphone-screensh ots-to-save-forgotten-places-but-that-gives-me-privacy-chills


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