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Google Maps kills off its new calorie counter

The feature, apparently meant to encourage walking, instead brought criticism on social media.

Ben Fox Rubin Former senior reporter
Ben Fox Rubin was a senior reporter for CNET News in Manhattan, reporting on Amazon, e-commerce and mobile payments. He previously worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and got his start at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Ben Fox Rubin

Google Maps is dropping a new feature that shows you how many calories you would burn if you walked along a requested route.

The feature in its iOS app, which apparently was meant to encourage walking instead of driving, also shows users how many mini cupcakes they would burn from their walk.

But, this feature received a harsh response on social media, with some critics saying it would shame people or offend those with eating disorders.

BuzzFeed earlier reported this change. Google  confirmed to CNET it was experimenting with the new feature on iOS and opted to scrap it after "strong user feedback."

Anyone still seeing the feature in Google Maps can restart the app to ensure it's gone.