Gadgets like fitness trackers and smartwatches can help track our biometrics like the amount of calories burnt during the day or during a workout. So the question is, wouldn’t it be much more convenient if calorie tracking were built into an app instead of a gadget? That way anyone who owns the app would be able to know without the need for a separate device.
Perhaps that’s what Google was thinking when they baked in a calorie counter into Google Maps. It was a feature that was part of an update to its iOS app, but unfortunately it seems to have been poorly received, and the subsequent backlash has since prompted Google to remove the feature completely.
For those unfamiliar, the feature basically showed users how many calories they could potentially burn if they were to walk to their destination, and in turn what they could burn off with that amount of calories in terms of a food item. Google no doubt had good intentions behind the feature, but the main problem seems to be that it came across a bit judgemental, and it also seemed to have the potential to trigger negative emotions and experiences for those who have an eating disorder, something that 30 million people in the US are said to have.
Google has since confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the feature has been removed due to “strong user feedback”, and that it was meant to be a test feature for its iOS app and for iPhone users only.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, Google and Google Maps.