Waze
Crowdsourced navigation and traffic mobile app
Reason: Parent company donated to Trump
Waze is owned by Google (Alphabet Inc.), one of the world's largest tech corporations. While Waze itself is best known as a navigation app built around community-sourced routing, its political and financial influence is inseparable from its parent company, and Alphabet has made clear and documented moves to align with the Trump-Vance administration in both funding and access.
Evidence & Context
Parent company: Alphabet
Alphabet donated $1 million to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee in 2025, a public, high-visibility financial endorsement of the incoming administration.
In addition, Alphabet contributed funding to the renovation and operation of Trump’s White House Ballroom, a space now used for political and ceremonial events closely associated with Trump’s return to power. Reporting indicates this donation placed Google alongside a select group of corporations, effectively underwriting Trump-led statecraft at the symbolic center of federal power.
This matters. The ballroom donation was not functional, operational, or regulatory; it was symbolic in nature. It was a gesture of loyalty, visibility, and alignment. Corporate sponsorship of presidential image-making has long been a method of influence, but doing so in a charged environment where democratic values and civil rights are actively being contested carries deeper implications.
These moves sit alongside Alphabet’s longstanding role in shaping public information environments — including maps, search results, video distribution, and AI systems. When a company with that much control over public knowledge and digital infrastructure signals alignment with a political regime, it raises serious concerns about how narratives, access, and truth are moderated and prioritized.
How to Boycott Waze
Waze’s map editing community and everyday drivers have no control over Alphabet’s political activities or corporate strategies. Keep interactions respectful and avoid directing criticism at volunteers who simply maintain local map accuracy.
When talking about Waze’s relationship to Alphabet or broader political influence, stick to verified facts. A fact-based approach strengthens credibility and ensures advocacy efforts remain grounded, responsible, and effective.
Alphabet’s frontline workers, store staff, and product users do not make corporate decisions. Keep interactions respectful and avoid placing blame on individuals who have no influence over executive leadership or political strategy.
From parent company: Alphabet
Stick to accurate, well-sourced facts about Alphabet, its subsidiaries, and its political activities. Ensuring information is correct preserves the integrity and credibility of any advocacy or boycott effort.
From parent company: Alphabet
Opt for non-Waze navigation apps such as Apple Maps, HERE WeGo, OsmAnd, or privacy-centric open-source options such as MagicEarth. Even small daily shifts reduce reliance on Alphabet-owned mobility platforms and encourage a more diverse digital mapping ecosystem.
Explore tools built on OpenStreetMap or other community-maintained datasets. These projects rely on volunteers, prioritize privacy, and offer non-corporate mapping options that don’t feed directly into Alphabet’s data or advertising systems.
If you invest through ETFs, mutual funds, or retirement accounts, check whether they hold Alphabet shares. Request reallocations into funds without Alphabet exposure to avoid supporting corporations whose political influence, lobbying practices, or governance priorities conflict with your values.
From parent company: Alphabet
Choose non-Google alternatives for navigation, search, maps, video, cloud services, or productivity tools when possible. Redirecting daily usage away from Alphabet reduces dependence on a single corporation whose scale allows it to shape information systems and political influence.
From parent company: Alphabet
Support independent, privacy-respecting apps and community-maintained technologies. These alternatives emphasize transparency and neutrality, ensuring your digital activity strengthens ecosystems not dominated by Alphabet’s data-driven business model.
From parent company: Alphabet
If your workplace or community group relies heavily on Google Maps, Waze, Gmail, or other Alphabet platforms, raise the option of adopting open-source or neutral solutions. Shifting institutional software decisions can meaningfully reduce large-scale financial reliance on Alphabet.
From parent company: Alphabet
Whenever feasible, avoid defaulting to Google-owned services such as YouTube, Chrome, Google Maps, or Android integrations. Minimizing usage reduces the passive data flows and ad-support that strengthen Alphabet’s consolidated market power.
From parent company: Alphabet
If an immediate switch feels challenging, start by using alternative apps for certain trips—like commutes, errands, or long-distance drives. Gradual transitions lower your reliance on Alphabet’s mapping ecosystem without disrupting your routines.
If you’re not ready to fully transition away from Alphabet, start by slowly diversifying your digital footprint. Try non-Alphabet search engines, cloud tools, and navigation apps to reduce over-reliance without requiring an immediate full shift.
From parent company: Alphabet
Refrain from submitting traffic reports, hazard markers, or map edits through Waze, since user-generated data directly strengthens Alphabet’s mobility intelligence networks. Limiting these inputs helps reduce the value extracted from your travel behavior.
Turn off optional connections between Waze and calendar apps, contacts, smart vehicles, or Google services. Restricting these links reduces how much personal information and behavioral insight flows back to Alphabet through your navigation activity.
Do not buy Alphabet shares or invest in funds that include them. Divesting reduces direct shareholder support for one of the world’s most influential tech companies, which leverages financial and policy influence across its subsidiaries.
From parent company: Alphabet
Contact
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