How Google Maps is helping fight the Coronavirus pandemic

Google launched the Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports to help public health officials respond to this pandemic while adhering to stringent privacy protocols. These reports use aggregated, anonymised data from users who have turned on the Location History setting to provide insights into changes in mobility patterns across different types of public locations. “These reports are being used by authorities (government agencies, health officials, researchers, etc.), to understand trends and patterns since the onset of lockdown,” says Anal Ghosh, senior program manager, Google India, in a recent interaction with Sudhir Chowdhary. Excerpts: