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My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

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101–110 of 370 posts

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#101

Coming soon near you: - Warming up for a run: Possible agitated tweaker, possible crisis - Going for a run after midnight: Evasive solitary movement after dark - Sprinting the last block home: Flight behavior consistent with shoplifting offense - Running with a hood up in the rain: Deliberate biometric obfuscation - Two runners meeting at a corner and leaving in opposite directions: Brief contact event, possible hand…

2036 crime prevention, detecting this behaviour and automatically forwarding it to the police to be referenced later for probable cause.

Pfft, police. Have you read Watchbird (1953) by Robert Sheckley? That's pretty much exactly where we're heading right now.

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still astounded by how poorly Gmaps handles Seattle ferries. The time and routing calculations always assume the best case scenario. I've had it insist I take the ferry because it estimated a 5 minute time savings, when in reality there is a minimum 3hr wait for a boat. This I can work around, but the truly awful behavior is that if you pull off for gas and then get back on the highway, it will automatically reca…

Can’t you disable ferries same as toll roads?

It’s not on the quick select pills so it’s not obvious but yes you can https://youtube.com/shorts/SA72d9VfsPg?is=F6zKWQNOkokN31F3

As for your other question, it looks like the guy was responding to an implied “I can’t turn off tolls as a hack bypass ferries because the bridge also requires a toll”. I’d speculate that it wasn’t obvious there’s a ferry-specific filter because the other filters show up as pills.

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#103

Adding “running” to the list of things that Google engineers apparently don’t do. Where it joins “walking”. Google Maps will suggest almost arbitrarily bonkers public transport directions to avoid walking. Personal favourite: the sensible way to get from my house to work, unless the weather is terrible, is six minutes on a train and a 15 min walk. Google Maps would, generally, prefer that I spend 15 mins on the train…

Its also possible that its optimised for least walking for other reasons. If you were disabled in any way (like a wheel chair) or even an old lady maybe this is the better route. Or if was during a huge snowstorm or heatwave?

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#104

Adding “running” to the list of things that Google engineers apparently don’t do. Where it joins “walking”. Google Maps will suggest almost arbitrarily bonkers public transport directions to avoid walking. Personal favourite: the sensible way to get from my house to work, unless the weather is terrible, is six minutes on a train and a 15 min walk. Google Maps would, generally, prefer that I spend 15 mins on the train…

Are we using the same app? Google Maps on my phone has a selector which MUST specify if you want public transport, car, walking directions etc.

If I select public transport yes, it will suggest public transport ways to get there. I can't see how this is a bug in any way

If I select walking it will show me how to walk there no matter if it takes 15 min or 15 days.

I can choose which i want depending on if i'm tired or weather is bad...

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would expect a city that's mostly retirement communities to have less snatch-and-run thefts than a city where tourists make up a large part of the population at any given time.

Interestingly, Tokyo has a much larger population than London with a very low crime rate. I can’t find specific numbers on stolen phones (only lost phone statistics are published) but robberies/muggings are 0.04 per 1,000 yearly versus London’s 2.83 per 1,000. Seoul has a similar rate to Tokyo, 0.4 to 0.5. Also, is there even a single city of London’s size that is mostly retirement communities?

The kind of crime in Tokyo that is happening may also just not be reported

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#106

Adding “running” to the list of things that Google engineers apparently don’t do. Where it joins “walking”. Google Maps will suggest almost arbitrarily bonkers public transport directions to avoid walking. Personal favourite: the sensible way to get from my house to work, unless the weather is terrible, is six minutes on a train and a 15 min walk. Google Maps would, generally, prefer that I spend 15 mins on the train…

At risk of summoning an army of vibe coders, I wish map apps were more configurable and let you set "I'm happy to walk 20 min" or "someone can drive me a few miles and drop me off"

Here's a tip if you use google maps: if you want to get from A to B but can walk a bit, just pick a point C between them then look up directions to and from point C separately. Works great

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#107
Such a silly complaint. Just file a request with Google for a run, and if you give them a few hours advance notice and verify that it's you through a video call with their AI authentication service, they'll put you right in the queue and tell you the range of slots that you're likely to get one of. You can use the time between now and then to get approval on your route.

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#108
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>an official app to report incidents of phone theft I can't be the only person to see the irony here. Do they also have a drive-thru to report car theft?

After you install it you cana "safe contact" or do the reporting on a website which will blocklist the phone's IMEI on all phone companies, block any banking app sessions and remotely wipe the phone. It also functions as a public searchable database of stolen phones, allowing a prospective buyer of a second hand device to check it.

Thats actually pretty awesome.

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#109
post #93

Adding “running” to the list of things that Google engineers apparently don’t do. Where it joins “walking”. Google Maps will suggest almost arbitrarily bonkers public transport directions to avoid walking. Personal favourite: the sensible way to get from my house to work, unless the weather is terrible, is six minutes on a train and a 15 min walk. Google Maps would, generally, prefer that I spend 15 mins on the train…

This might just be realistic about the median American's tolerance for walking. Most Americans live in suburbs that are not walkable. At least, I know my own tolerance for walking is very abnormal for an American, and it's due to having lived in walking-oriented cities like Berkeley.

> This might just be realistic about the median American's tolerance for walking.

This might be unrealistic about the number and relevance of Median-Americans. Turns out more than a few Americans that are outside of the median own telephones.

Re: My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

#110
post #38

I refuse to go running with a phone - too heavy, and too distracting, running outside is one of the few places I _escape_ the phone for a bit. So I made sure to get a fitness tracker with onboard GPS. It syncs to the phone later, when I return, which then uploads workout data to the vendor's cloud. I look at the results on my PC with a web browser, phone is a passive middleman and is never touched directly for fitnes…

You may have tried this, but I run with my phone in an elasticated belt that's just tight enough to keep the phone stable without being uncomfortable. I really don't want to fork out for another device just for running. (I also find a watch on my wrist annoying when I don't wear one normally).

Not the OP but I used to do that - problem is phones are becoming so damn large even the elasticated belt doesnt work that great anymore. Too much bounce.

I found a "belt" thats much wider and doesnt have a clip (has to be sized just right) that does work better. But a bit of a pain to wear sometimes.

For years I just literally ran with the phone in my hand (got used to switching hands and positions for comfort) so I could still do music and tracking. Not that bad when you get used to it. Eventually got a Garmin watch (cheapest with maps and music) which works great.

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