Google Maps finally goes 'Incognito' for iPhone users
The secretive incognito mode from the Chrome browser app is here for more privacy-conscious Google Maps users.
Starting Monday, Google's navigation app will let iPhone users use the same incognito mode from Chrome web browsing to turn off activity tracking on Google Maps. The feature launched back in October for Android users.
Now that iOS is all caught up, users will be able to choose how much information about places they’ve searched for or navigated to is saved and stored. To turn on incognito mode, simply click on your profile photo in the top right corner of the app to toggle the mode on and off.
You May Also Like
Google first revealed the privacy setting back in May at the Google I/O conference. When disabled, the app will strip away any personalization, like restaurant recommendations based on other places you've visited. Your location history will also be cleared, so you won't be able to look back at where you've been.
Also coming up: bulk Timeline deletions. Timeline, for the unaware, uses your Location History to show a map of where you've been. You'll find it within the "sandwich" icon that's to the left of the search bar. If you keep location tracking off when you're not using the app. your Timeline will show "no visited places." But, if you do keep it on, you can now delete parts or all of your visited locations instead of doing it one by one.
Like most Google tools, this feature's coming first for Android next year. iPhone users will just have to wait -- but you should be used to that by now.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
