Google releases anonymous location data to show how we're fighting coronavirus

A key strategy in mitigating the danger of the coronavirus outbreak has, in most countries, been social distancing — staying at home unless necessary and avoiding close contact with other people if possible.

Now, Google has released data that shows how well different countries are implementing this strategy.

The data comes from Google Maps, where Google collects information on how busy certain places are. You may have seen a listing for a restaurant on Maps that tells you how crowded it typically is at a certain hour; well, this is how Google does it. The data, Google says, is aggregated and anonymized, meaning it cannot be used to trace a single person. It comes from the Location History setting, which is off by default, and can be toggled on and off on your Google Account.

Now, the company is releasing the data in the form of Community Mobility Reports, which initially cover 131 countries and regions.

"We have heard from public health officials that this same type of aggregated, anonymized data could be helpful as they make critical decisions to combat COVID-19," the company said in a blog post.

The data offers mobility trends categorized by certain types of location; for example, you can see how often people go to restaurants and shopping centers, or drug stores and grocery markets, or public beaches and parks. The reports are further divided by regions, and can be downloaded in PDF format.

In Italy, people have stopped moving almost completely. Credit: Google

Unsurprisingly, nearly all countries I've checked show a significant decline in movement across all categories. In Italy, which has been one of the hardest-struck countries by the pandemic, some categories show a decline of more than 90 percent.

Google says that, in the coming weeks, it will add additional countries and regions to these reports.

COVID-19 — the disease caused by coronavirus — has so far killed more than 45,600 and infected more than 900,000 people. The outbreak has been worsening in the U.S. in recent weeks, with more than 245,500 confirmed cases and 6,057 deaths.