Has anyone else found google maps will turn your position icon into a pop up saying “accuracy: low, tap to improve”? It is the most obnoxious UI “feature” I’ve seen in maps (one of many I suppose). When you click on it, it wants you to take photos of the street around you to improve accuracy! What bullshit. No, google, I am not going to give you free streetview photos because you are lying about location accuracy.
It isn't about generating "free streetview photos" but actually about matching the imagery around you to the database of Street View photos they already have. If there is no match, it isn't going to take your photos and keep them... it has no accurate idea of where you are.
The service is called Live View and is exceptionally useful (and optional) if you are in a foreign country where you are unfamiliar with street signs or in an urban canyon.
Location accuracy challenges aren't a conspiracy, it can be very difficult to generate at cold start (see numerous other comments about how GPS can take a while to locate accurately but fused signals from other sources can help turn that into 1-2s)
I guess this is good to know. But doesn’t fit well with my experience with it. I am getting the pop-up while living in a first world city. Google maps is allowed to use wifi to help find me. And the dot representing my location is invariably in the correct spot. Yet, the pop-up still shows. Forgive me my suspicion since there is no practical reason why I need to improve my location accuracy when it is already very accurate.
Well, why it pops up I can't really speak to (could easily be a product manager trying to boost engagement), but what it does is more of what I'm familiar with
