(CNN) -- A recent torrent of complaints has prompted Apple CEO Tim Cook to issue a public apology for the company's new maps app in the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, which previously relied on Google Maps. Addresses are not showing up correctly, public transit directions aren't available, and the satellite views make it look as if the Brooklyn Bridge is bending into the Hudson River. Unlike the naysayers, I was delighted to see the change. That's because six months ago, I broke up with Google. It's not a decision I made lightly. I was in an intimate relationship with the company for years. Google knew what I watched on YouTube and which trains I caught into New York City for a night out. It facilitated collaborations with my colleagues and helped me navigate foreign cities. We had some good times together, Google and I.
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User complaints prompted Apple to apologize for its new maps app
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Janet Vertesi: I was delighted that Apple no longer relied on Google Maps
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She says Google's privacy policy aggregated users' personal data for profit
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Vertesi: Breaking the Google monopoly means that all of our choices can improve
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Because when @placeholder has a better picture of who you are, what you like and what you do online, it becomes even more attractive to advertisers.
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Clicking a link on my computer or phone automatically opened Google Maps, search, or @placeholder.
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Service by service, @placeholder had convinced me that I needed it for everything, all to seduce me into giving up more of my personal data.
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@placeholder users pay for their products in dollars, not in personal information.
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@placeholder also has a long history of treating its users not like products, but like consumers.