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Tag: Google Maps

  • Google Maps Gives Users the Ability to Manage Their Profiles

    Google Maps Gives Users the Ability to Manage Their Profiles

    Google Maps finally allows users to manage their profiles straight from the mobile app, a feature that wasn’t available earlier. With the new update, Android users now add their name, profile photo, a short bio, along with the ability to manage account setting and privacy tools directly from the Google Maps app.

    Users can manage their public profile from their phone via the new ‘your profile’ tab in the side menu. Users also get the option to hide their public contributions on their profile. To do so, just head over to Menu/Your profile/More/Profile settings and turn off Show contributions on your profile. That said, anyone will still be able to see your name, photo, and bio on your profile.

    Besides, users also get the option to make their profile invisible for businesses for added privacy.

    The option to manage and edit public profiles is a welcome change given the fact that Google Maps is built upon user contributions to fill in details. Though readers are reminded that being a server-side update, having the latest Google Maps app won’t guarantee that you’ll get this feature.

    For now, users will have to wait until Google makes it available for their device. Besides, there’s also no information about whether iOS users will get this option, as it does not show up there at the time of writing.

    That said, the feature is likely to arrive on iOS as well as Google is committed to improving the experience of Google Maps on all platforms. Back in October, the company announced a bunch of new features for the iPhone version of Google Maps, giving users the ability to report accidents, traffic jams, and speed traps. The feature arrived on Android earlier this year, and now both iOS and Android users can report about incidents such as road accidents, lane closures, along with other driving hazards such as obstacles or abandoned vehicles on the road.

  • Google Maps brings popular Waze-like features for iPhone users

    Google Maps brings popular Waze-like features for iPhone users

    Google is committed to improving the experience of Google Maps on all platforms. Hence, the company has announced a bunch of new features for the iPhone version of Google Maps, giving users the ability to report accidents, traffic jams, and speed traps. The feature arrived on Android earlier this year, and now both iOS and Android users can report about incidents such as road accidents, lane closures, along with other driving hazards such as obstacles or abandoned vehicles on the road.

    These all are the features that made Waze ever so popular among users, implying that Google wants to make Google apps more like Waze. Earlier, Google launched other Waze-like features on Google Maps such as speed limits, speed traps, as well as the ability to add a stop to a route and view nearby gas prices.

    Waze is a standalone navigation app also owned by Google. The company describes it as a “traffic navigation app,” which uses information submitted by users to avoid traffic jams, road construction sites, and other hazards that drivers must be notified of beforehand while en route towards a new destination.

    “We’re introducing the ability to report four new types of incidents–construction, lane closures, disabled vehicles, and objects on the road (like debris)–so you can quickly know if you’ll encounter one of these potential obstructions on your ride, and plan accordingly,” explained Google.

    iPhone users can now add a report by a simple tap while navigating a route in Google Maps. Once you tap on the screen, a pop-up will appear that lets users choose from a list of options such as Crash, Speed Trap, Slowdown, Construction, Lane Closure, Disabled vehicle and Object on Road.

    Google said that these new Google Maps features will begin rolling out globally this week. However, the feature is only limited to mobile, as support for these features hasn’t yet arrived on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.