Google declared shortly after the crisis between Russia and Ukraine began that it will disable traffic and crowd data on Google Maps because the information could be used against huge gatherings of Ukrainian residents fleeing the violence. Google has now confirmed that Air Strike warnings will be added as well.
According to reports, the Ukrainian government has asked Google to include the latest functionality in Google Play Services. Ukraine already has a raid alarm system in place, and the new function will help it reach even more people. Google claims that the feature will be available right away.
In an official blog post, Kent Walker, Google’s President of Global Affairs, wrote, “Tragically, millions of people in Ukraine now rely on airstrike alerts to try to get to safety. At the request, and with the help, of the government of Ukraine, we’ve started rolling out a rapid Air Raid Alerts system for Android phones in Ukraine.
This work is supplemental to the country’s existing air raid alert systems and based on alerts already being delivered by the Ukrainian government”
Dave Burke, Google’s VP of Engineering, claims that the company used the same low-latency system to detect earthquakes.
During the conflict, Google has already suspended most of its services in Russia, including Google ads and many of its commercial activities, such as payment functionality and YouTube monetization features. In addition, the company blocked a number of Russian state-backed channels from its platforms.
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