Police tracking apps are apparently dangerous spying tools

Google acquired Waze for nearly a billion dollars back in 2013 so that it could gets its hands on the company’s unique combination of GPS navigation and social communities. One of the features of this service is that it can track the location of police officers in your area and many law enforcement officials are now working to get this feature banned due to what they call a “threat to police officers.”

Sheriffs are campaigning to pressure Google Inc to turn off a feature on its Waze traffic software that warns drivers when police are nearby. They say one of the technology industry’s most popular mobile apps could put officers’ lives in danger from would-be police killers who can find where their targets are parked. Waze, which Google purchased for $966m in 2013, is a combination of GPS navigation and social networking. Fifty million users in 200 countries turn to the free service for real-time traffic guidance and warnings about nearby congestion, car accidents, speed traps or traffic cameras, construction zones, potholes, stalled vehicles or unsafe weather conditions. To Sergio Kopelev, a reserve deputy sheriff in southern California, Waze is also a stalking app for law enforcement.