Although the vehicle icon is only visible on your mobile device, the username, mood and ranking are also visible to other users.
Needless to say, this should not necessarily be a privacy concern since only limited information is published. Some users are not big fans of this approach and prefer to remain private, especially since the name and picture can be revealed to friends as well.
Waze knows that disclosing such information is not everyone’s cup of tea. As such, the app also includes options to stay private while using the app.
To do this, Waze users must enable invisible mode. When this feature is enabled, users’ information will no longer appear on the map.
Invisible mode is located in the My Waze menu under Settings > Privacy. Look for the switch called “Go invisible” and make sure it’s turned on.
You should know that this change will not be implemented immediately. This means that it normally takes a few minutes for your profile to appear offline after activating invisible mode.
Unfortunately, since the invisible setting is supposed to keep your information private, some features are automatically disabled when you turn it on. This is because when using certain functions, your information, including your username, may still be exposed.
For example, Waze says you can no longer send reports when using the app in invisible mode. Each report displayed on the map contains information from the sender, so this feature has been disabled to prevent your information from being exposed.
The Google-owned company also explains that sending messages to other Wazers is also not possible. The reason is the same, because the messaging experience would involve revealing your username, and by enabling invisible mode, you’re telling the app to avoid this.
Last but not least, adding and editing locations on the map is also disabled as this feature also involves saving and revealing your username.
Invisible mode is available on both Android and iPhone. When you activate it on a mobile device, invisible mode also becomes available in Android Auto and CarPlay. The mirrored experience uses the mobile device’s settings.
If you want to turn off the invisible mode, you must follow the instructions above, but uncheck “Go invisible”. When you turn off invisible mode, the aforementioned features are re-enabled in Waze, so you can once again send reports while using the app.