Anyone who lets their GPS do the thinking for them has ended up on some uncomfortable treks through frightening backstreets and rough areas that you’d rather avoid. Microsoft has patented a feature that will teach a GPS advice to help pedestrians stick to presumably safer streets, as well as “an open area subject to harsh temperatures.”

CBS Seattle reports the tech, meant for cell phones, will take crime and weather statistics into account when it’s plotting out its routes.

Somewhat ominously, there’s also part of the patent that says the feature “performs a reward operation in relation to information obtainment or direction set production, wherein the reward operation rewards the pedestrian, an advertisement hosting service, a provider, or any combination thereof.”

Hopefully the patent doesn’t lead to GPS routes that steer you toward businesses under the guise of keeping you safer.

Microsoft Patents ‘Avoid Ghetto’ Feature For GPS Devices [CBS Seattle]

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