Google Maps tools showing real-time information about crowds and traffic conditions in Ukraine have been temporarily disabled globally.
The move, according to Reuters, is "for the safety of local communities in the country, " currently facing attacks from Russian forces.
Tech companies like Google are taking measures to protect Ukrainian users' security during what Russia called a "special operation" in the region. Since Thursday's invasion, nearly 400,000 civilians have fled to neighboring countries, Reuters reported.
Live traffic information remains available to local drivers using Maps' turn-by-turn navigation features. A Google spokesperson confirmed Reuters' report in an email to PCMag.
A double-edged sword, the app can lead bad actors directly to an intended target, or it can serve as a tool for visualizing (and perhaps stopping) military action. Thanks to Google Maps, Jeffrey Lewis knew an attack was coming hours before news broke last week.
A professor specializing in arms control and nonproliferation at California's Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Lewis and a team of students were monitoring Google Maps, The Washington PostThe Washington Post said, when they spotted an unexpected accumulation of traffic near the south-west city of Belgorod—long before rush hour.
It turns out a Russian armored unit was moving toward the Russian/Ukrainian border. "In the old days, we would have relied on a reporter to show us what was happening on the ground," Lewis told the Post. "And today, you can open Google Maps and see people fleeing Kyiv."
It's unclear how, or if, folks in Ukraine and around the world are using Google features like location sharing to track loved ones.