Changing Mobility Lifestyle: A Case Study on the Impact of COVID-19 Using Personal Google Locations Data

The article is focused on a detailed micro-study describing changes in the behaviour of the authors in three months before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is based on data from Google Location Service. Despite the fact it evaluates only three people and the study cannot be sufficiently representative, it is a unique example of possible data processing at such a level of accuracy. The most significant changes in the behaviour of authors before and during the COVID-19 quarantine are described and interpreted in detail. Another purpose of the article is to point out the possibilities of analytical processing of Google Location while being aware of personal data protection issues. The authors recognize that by visualizing the real motion data, one partially discloses their privacy, but one considers it very valuable to show how detailed data Google collects about the population and how such data can be used effectively.

Automated summary

The article provides a detailed micro-study on changes in authors' behavior before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using Google Location Service data. Despite the small sample size, it showcases the potential for accurate data processing and highlights privacy concerns when using such detailed data.