I lastly de-Googled my life, however I still utilize Waze in Android Auto for 4 crucial factors

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Released Sep 25, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT

Andy is a senior author and previous Mac editor at HTG. He has more than 20 years experience as a customer tech reporter, and has actually covered whatever from the old Palm Pilots to the initial iPhone and Android gadgets, to the current gizmos.
He has actually composed and modified for UK-based print publications like PDA Essentials and Android Magazineand online at websites consisting of MUOAndroid Tips and Hacksbroadband.co.ukand EnvatoHe wants all things mobile and has actually been an eager Mac lover given that 2005.

I’ve invested a great deal of time changing Google apps and services with options, and have actually carried on from Google Maps, Chrome, Photos, and even Search. The one Google app that I keep coming back to is Waze. I keep it set up on my phone and utilize it in Android Auto, and there are 4 particular reasons.

Waze’s real-time traffic details is difficult to beat

Waze’s most significant strength is the large quantity of real-time details it has and can offer about what’s occurring on the roadway. Since its pre-Google days, it has actually been constructed around its neighborhood of users, depending on them to report all sorts of occasions and concerns to keep their fellow users upgraded. Traffic conditions can alter rapidly, and Waze shows those modifications through its crowdsourced details.

You can report mishaps, blockage, roadway closures, and even holes and animals, in addition to things like speed traps.

This makes it specifically beneficial for daily driving. Personally, I do not make long-distance drives that frequently, so I seldom require navigation to in fact reveal me where to go. What I do require is a photo of what’s occurring on the roadways where I will be driving. There are couple of things more frustrating than getting stuck in traffic on a brief journey into town, and Waze assists me to prevent that.

Waze can stand out at this since of the large size of its user base. It’s extremely difficult to reproduce in smaller sized or open-source jobs, where the ultramodern information simply isn’t there.

It’s fantastic at rerouting

Keep your eyes on the roadway, and not on the screen

Obviously, having the info about traffic and roadway conditions isn’t all that helpful if the app does not act upon it. In my experience, Waze is the most proactive app when it concerns rerouting to prevent issues (in some cases it can provide a lot of signals).

Even when I’m heading someplace familiar, I’ll put the location into Waze, and after that if traffic develops on the path, or there are other type of events that may impact my journey, it will compute options while I’m driving. I seem like it keeps me one action ahead of the video game. I do not need to get stuck and after that choose to detour. It really frequently assists me bypass those problems before I even understand they’re there.

And it all occurs hands- and eyes-free. I do not discover myself continuously taking a look at the app to see what’s going on.

Open-source options just can’t match it

It’s frequently personal privacy vs benefit

In spite of how great Waze is at providing on its strengths, I ‘d still be eager to relocate to an open-source or more personal option if one existed, and I’ve checked lots of options.

There are great deals of truly strong apps that supply exceptional navigation without counting on Google’s community, some open-source and some not. The issue is that turn-by-turn instructions are typically not my concern in an Android Auto app. I require that live roadway traffic info.

Many open-source apps just can’t copy this at Waze’s scale. Lots of take a hardline privacy-first technique and do not even utilize the web, so you can neither report nor get updates on driving conditions. Others just do not have the user base to be able to provide it in a significant method. This prevails with open-source software application. Apps can get the fundamentals down completely, however the bonus that need either less personal privacy or more facilities are difficult to reproduce. It’s a compromise I needed to make throughout my de-Googling efforts.

While open-source can’t contend with Waze in the methods that matter to me, there are some non-open-source options that come a lot more detailed.

It’s still a Google app, however I can restrict how I utilize it

And I do not even need to check in

The factor I’ve been more ready to continue utilizing Waze regardless of it being a Google app is that I just utilize it for Android Auto. It is mostly a driving app and has little to use anybody who’s strolling, biking, or wishes to explore their area. And although I understand it’s hoovering up a few of my information, I like that I can utilize it without visiting, so a minimum of whatever isn’t connected to an account.

When it pertains to navigation on my phone, I utilize other apps to fill out the spaces. I truly like Magic Earth for its efforts at recreating a great deal of what you receive from Google Maps and Waze in a more privacy-focused method. I utilize HERE WeGo as the primary Maps replacement on my phone. It can use much of what you receive from Google Maps, consisting of quality instructions for usage out of the vehicle and a lot of regional search tools to assist discover companies, dining establishments, and so forth.

De-Googling does not indicate Google-free

I’ve enormously decreased my usage of Google apps and services, however Waze is one exception that I’m delighted to make. Its most significant strengths remain in locations that are difficult for other apps to copy, particularly the open-source options, and it’s not likely to alter whenever quickly.

To me, it looks like an appropriate compromise. De-Googling for me implies cutting my dependence on Google, and while I’ve accepted losing functions occasionally in other apps, Waze has functions that I do not wish to quit.

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