Google taps vast trove of location data to aid global effort to combat coronavirus

Google is a dominant data juggernaut with a mission to “organize the world’s information,” its leaders long have said. Now, the company is aiming to put its lucrative trove to use in a novel way — helping doctors across the globe to battle the deadly coronavirus.

A new effort unveiled by Google on Friday seeks to harness the tech giant’s vast cache of digital records about its users’ whereabouts to help public health officials spot key trends and better combat the pandemic. In 131 countries, down to the county level in the United States, Google says government experts will soon be able to see whether people are traveling more or less to grocery stores, pharmacies, parks and other businesses, or generally choosing to heed advice and stay at home.