Sampling of data from US report. | Image: Google
Google is using location data gathered from smartphones to help public health officials understand how people’s movements have changed in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In a blog post early Friday morning, Google announced the release of its COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports.
The reports use data from people who have opted in to storing their location history with Google to help illustrate the degree to which people are adhering to government instructions to shelter in place and, where possible, work from home.
“As global communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasing emphasis on public health strategies, like social distancing measures, to slow the rate of transmission,” the company said in a blog post. “In Google Maps, we use aggregated, anonymized data showing how busy certain types of places are — helping identify when a local business tends to be the most crowded. 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.”
Anyone can view the reports, which cover 131 countries to start. In many locations, users can search for more regional data, examining reports for individual states, provinces, and counties. After the user selects a geographic region, Google will generate a PDF with the data it has collected. Google said that it chose PDFs over web pages because they could be more easily downloaded and shared with workers in the field.
Each report contains information about movement patterns in six categories:
A sample report viewed by The Verge for California, where a shelter in place order has been in effect since March 19th, showed steep declines to retail and recreation locations and transit stations, with a moderate uptick in time spent at home.
Data covers the past 48 to 72 hours, Google said, and the percentage changes reflect the difference between movement this month and late January.
The move comes as technology companies have been asked by government agencies and health officials to share more data to aid in the coronavirus response. On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that mobile advertising companies were similarly sharing anonymized, aggregated data with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well state and local governments, to help officials understand the spread of the disease and coordinate their response.
Facebook has made similar data available to academic researchers.