6 Ways Google Is Stealing Money from Your Pockets

5. Google Local Guide

Do you know your city or town like the back of your palm? You could start offering guided tours, especially if there are a lot of interesting historic locations peppered around.

Nowadays users can look information up about a site or a business without the need of a professional, and we have to admit it’s quite handy. Checking out business hours, information about locations, and reviews with one tap on a map has truly revolutionized the way we interact with our surroundings.

Now, Google could pay a business to provide all this data for their maps but instead, they rely on people to do it for free, dangling ‘perks’ in front of their noses. The Local Guides program allows people to add information including pictures, reviews, or comments about certain locations.

The local guides accumulate points. At certain thresholds, they gain badges and so the cycle repeats itself. From time to time you might even receive a reward, though calling it a reward is a little farfetched! Some of them include discounts from businesses they helped or courses on Udemy.

Don’t let this fool you, though, since Udemy frequently discounts courses for everyone! So if you want to join the Local Guides program just know you’ll work for free no matter what Google claims.

For a service that more than half of Google’s users use we have to say it’s pretty concerning that there aren’t any genuine perks.