Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Waze is going through a series of very controversial changes, with the company tweaking the reporting options in an attempt to simplify the overall experience.
If you've been using Waze for more than a day, you probably know the application offers a ton of reporting options. Users can report everything from fog and floods to broken traffic lights, roadkill, and accidents.
When it comes to police, Waze users were originally provided with three options, namely a standard speed trap, hidden radars, and police on the other side of the road.
Not long ago, the option to report police on the other side of the road went missing for some, as Waze started a gradual removal (still underway at the time of writing). The company never announced this update, but several users have already confirmed the option is no longer available on their devices. I can still report police on the other side of the road, so the change hasn't yet made its way to all accounts.
The transition to a simplified experience continues with another change that seems controversial for some users. The option to remove "hidden" police is gone for a small set of accounts, so users can only send one type of police report. It's unclear who receives the change and who doesn't, but the rollout still appears to occur in phases.
Nobody likes change, but Waze's reasoning makes perfect sense this time. The company wants to provide users with a more straightforward way of reporting speed traps, so removing the options that only make the experience more cluttered is the right approach. Drivers shouldn't care if a speed trap is hiding behind the bushes or not. Any speed trap is a speed trap, so as long as you see a police report on Waze, the app serves its purpose just right.
The only confusing part is the gradual rollout that Waze doesn't want to comment on. Some people believe that this never-ending tweaking is part of a transition to Google Maps, as the parent company could eventually ditch Waze altogether. Google owns Waze, and some recent changes suggested the company and the navigation software could eventually be absorbed by the parent firm. For example, Google laid off the Waze marketing team and moved the application to Google ads.
Meanwhile, Waze keeps refining its reporting system in a way that may or may not make sense. In addition to the two police reports, the application has also removed the option to report vehicles stopped on the side of the road. The change is also taking place in stages for Waze accounts worldwide, though it remains to be seen when it'll be live on all devices and whether it becomes permanent.
When it comes to police, Waze users were originally provided with three options, namely a standard speed trap, hidden radars, and police on the other side of the road.
Not long ago, the option to report police on the other side of the road went missing for some, as Waze started a gradual removal (still underway at the time of writing). The company never announced this update, but several users have already confirmed the option is no longer available on their devices. I can still report police on the other side of the road, so the change hasn't yet made its way to all accounts.
The transition to a simplified experience continues with another change that seems controversial for some users. The option to remove "hidden" police is gone for a small set of accounts, so users can only send one type of police report. It's unclear who receives the change and who doesn't, but the rollout still appears to occur in phases.
Nobody likes change, but Waze's reasoning makes perfect sense this time. The company wants to provide users with a more straightforward way of reporting speed traps, so removing the options that only make the experience more cluttered is the right approach. Drivers shouldn't care if a speed trap is hiding behind the bushes or not. Any speed trap is a speed trap, so as long as you see a police report on Waze, the app serves its purpose just right.
The only confusing part is the gradual rollout that Waze doesn't want to comment on. Some people believe that this never-ending tweaking is part of a transition to Google Maps, as the parent company could eventually ditch Waze altogether. Google owns Waze, and some recent changes suggested the company and the navigation software could eventually be absorbed by the parent firm. For example, Google laid off the Waze marketing team and moved the application to Google ads.
Meanwhile, Waze keeps refining its reporting system in a way that may or may not make sense. In addition to the two police reports, the application has also removed the option to report vehicles stopped on the side of the road. The change is also taking place in stages for Waze accounts worldwide, though it remains to be seen when it'll be live on all devices and whether it becomes permanent.
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