Locate & Annoy

I was about to google something this morning when I noticed at the bottom of the page "<Nearby suburb> NSW - From your phone (Location History)" & it made me angry. Forget about the fact that I was using my desktop computer at home, but my phone history was being used to locate me. What really annoyed me was that <Nearby suburb> is not where I live - in fact, it's over the ridge in a much less salubrious part of town.

I have been demographically downgraded by google.

They're not the only ones - the weather app on my phone thinks I'm in <Other nearby suburb> & keeps giving me their weather.

For years, I have laughed at people in certain inner-city suburbs where boundaries divide streets & people "lie" about which side they're on. The post office has been dealing with these problems for years. Then there's the vanity suburbs, the ones that only exist in the minds of residents, that councils & governments just think of as pseudonyms for the "real" suburb.

But here I am, living in a real suburb with quite distinct boundaries - sure, we don't have a post office or church or school, but we're definitely not a part of <Nearby suburb>. In fact, it's an entirely different scenario - <My suburb> is obviously a better suburb if you look around the area. Everyone I know (not just the neighbours) agree that <My suburb> stands out as a distinctly better place. People pay good money to move to <My suburb>.

It's not just that they don't build houses like this in other suburbs in the area, & it's not that the block sizes are generous compared to the new estates. There is a distinct feel of better-ness throughout, with people putting in a genuine effort to differentiate themselves from those in <Nearby suburb>.

Don't get me wrong, we don't look down on them ... well, from the top of the ridge, we do. What I mean is, we accept that there is a place for people like us in <My suburb> & a place where people like them can live their lives in <Nearby suburb> & we get along peacefully. We mind our own business. We see each other at the shopping centre - admittedly from the distance of different shops. We watch the same New Year's Eve fireworks - although I can see them from upstairs. We all have barbecues, just with a different cut of meat.

We are a community across the area.

So, why can't Google understand this simple distinction? How can I be branded as living in <Nearby suburb> from the comfort of my own home? This is not an issue of privacy, it's an issue of publicity.