6th Gen navi require subscription?

200 miles east of Seattle deep into the Cascades, and you lose internet for a good 70 miles of that, at least in my case as I use T-Mobile. Having Offline maps js crucial

 

Many people here pointed to Android Auto and Google maps. This is workable solution, but doing so seriously compromises your privacy. This gives Google access to a lot of additional data that they would not normally have from just your phone. For example, they will know if you voted in person (because you drove your car to a polling station). They will know where you shop and what time (because you drove your car to a store). All of this will impact what ads they try to show you, what "personalized" search results they will provide in search, and what videos they will recommend you through YouTube. This effect is very widespread, as they literally will try to shape your perception of reality. Even if you are not overly concerned about your privacy, you should be concerned for your mental health. While Apple is by no means respectful of your privacy, they are lesser evil because of how they use your data.

Pause and seriously consider, is it a good thing that Google knows exactly where you are at all times (because you give it permissions by using Google maps), who you communicate with (because you use Android), and where you drive to by yourself (because you use Android Auto)?

Last but not least, in any real emergency cell will be down. This means that any online GPS won't work.

This is why offline GPS is so important, Garmin or in-dash GPS with offline maps, because you can leave your phone behind and go shopping, visit a friend, etc..

 

Google knows all that whether you use Maps or not. As long as you login to android with your email address that's it. Google even keeps a timeline on you that you can also access.

 

Always being tracked by Google is not inevitable. You can use iPhone. If you are technically savvy, you can de-Google Android. If you are not, you can purchase Faraday pouch and put your phone into one (at the time when privacy is needed). You can't easily do that with a car.

 

At least in the context of an iPhone, Google’s prying eyes are held at bay just by not having as much permissions by default - unless you select for Google Maps to Always have your location.

Apple Maps, at least as of writing, is superior to Google Maps privacy-wise - this isn’t meant to prove everything but Apple did put in effort to chop up routing data so they know less and have been leaning on it as a differentiator.

That same effort went into the Find My network and many other things are kept local on the device like where you’ve been - if it’s enabled. (bonus points for the end-to-end iCloud encryption option, etc.)

https://www.idownloadblog.com/2019/03/13/apple-maps-navigation-privacy/

Of course, policies, implementation, laws may vary over time, but it’ll probably be up to us to see when the wind blows differently.

Personally, I still make use of Google’s generally superior POI database and toll estimation but prefer to route via Apple Maps in general use. Still appreciating my Garmin though.

If I had an Android phone, it would ideally be de-Googled and I would be using HERE Maps for navigation and Google Maps for POI’s like currently.

But since everyone’s use case is different, everyone gotta make sure they can still get around.

In unrelated news, I just bought a road atlas!

 

Super good point about mental health. The personal data stream we generate every day gives advertisers, newsfeeds, social media networks/apps, and search engines an extremely powerful way of figuring out what we will “engage” in. All google and such care about are clicks (essentially), because that’s what they use to ultimately sell advertisement or influence.

I had to quit newsfeeds like apple news because they figured me out. The algorithm found out what I would click on, which was usually things that would piss me off. After a while, all I got on the newsfeeds was rage bait.

If you aren’t careful and aware of how this business works, it’s very easy for google, facebook, etc, to create extremely narrow toxic versions of realities for each individual user.