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Dr. Drang, sharp as a tack:

Apple has held the line on some of the encroaching creepiness, but hasn’t been praised for it. Just the opposite. Apple cut its ties with Google for Maps data because Google wanted your user info and Apple wouldn’t give it to them. The quality of iOS Maps went down, and everyone dumped on Apple for providing an inferior product.

Why was Apple’s mapping data inferior? Part of it, certainly, was because they got a late start. But the main reason Google’s maps are better is that Google spent a lot of time and money on its maps, and it did that because it knew that spending would pay off in the collection and selling of your information. In effect, the creepiness of Google is what makes Google Maps so good.