Google Maps has launched a computer map editing tool that allows users to add new or missing roads to the landscape.
This feature, which will be developed over the next few months in more than 80 countries, will allow users to add missing roads by drawing lines, renaming roads, reassigning or deleting incorrect roads, and reporting if a road is closed.
All they have to do is click the side menu button on the Maps home page, click “Edit Map” and select “Missing Road”.
Google added that it will review all contributions before posting them to make sure jokers don’t add roads that don’t exist.
Google Maps also tries to help local businesses by letting users leave quick photo updates instead of in-depth reviews.
The technology giant offers users new ways to edit Maps to ensure that the service “reflects the real world” during the current pandemic.
“With all the change our world has experienced over the past year, people rely more than ever on up-to-date, high-quality information about the places around them, such as whether there’s a restaurant nearby or local grocery store has updated the schedule “. says the firm in a blog post.
“We make it easy for anyone with a Google Account to bring their local knowledge of more than 200 million places to Google Maps.
“These community-led updates help people everywhere make better decisions about what to do and where to go.”
Google is currently asking you to click on the map where the missing road should be and enter its name.
Once the feature is deployed, it should be updated and allow users to draw the missing roads.
To ensure that the tool is not hijacked by pranksters and to ensure that suggestions and modifications are accurate, Google examines the road updates provided before posting them.
The firm says it will email the authors about the status of their modifications.
Another update announced by the company in the blog post, which will be posted “in the coming weeks,” allows users to share photo updates on their mobile.
Essentially, it allows users to share up-to-date business information and helpful tips by simply uploading a photo.
A photo update would be a recent snapshot of a site with a brief description of the text, with no need to leave a review or long score.
This will help other Google Maps users find and share experiences with recent photos.
Google Maps users can upload as many photos as they want over businesses on the Updates tab, as an alternative to writing a review
To leave a photo update, users will need to go to the “Updates” tab when searching for a place on Google Maps to see the latest photos that merchants and others have shared.
To add their own update, they can tap “upload a photo update,” select photos, leave a brief description, and publish.
“You can post as many photos as you want and find photo updates that others have left on the Updates tab,” says Google.
Google also encourages Maps users to update 100,000 businesses with new photos, reviews, and updates next month.
To do so, users can click the Contribute to Google Maps tab and add ratings, reviews, and information about local businesses that have been visited, such as a coffee shop or bakery.
Google calls it the “Local Love Challenge,” as it aims to help companies affected by the pandemic.
“We see people showing love and support for local businesses on Google Search and Maps by leaving photos, writing reviews, or updating factual information, such as new store hours,” says Google.
“We want to amplify that same local love with a role we’re piloting now.”
This feature works with Local Guides, your community of users who share tips and photos about Maps apps, where everyone can join.
Local Guides was launched six years ago and now has 150 million contributors worldwide, Google also revealed in the post.
Since its launch, Local Guides has contributed more than 70% of user-generated reviews, photos, and other content to Maps.
Google celebrated the 15th anniversary of Google Maps last year with the launch of a new, updated design, which gave the terrain a “more vibrant”, detailed and colorful look.
15 YEARS OF GOOGLE MAPS
A Google Maps plan as it looked when it was launched 15 years ago. Google says service has “redefined what it means to be a map”
– On February 8, 2005, Google Maps for computers was first launched as a new solution to help people “move from point A to point B.”
– Just a few months later, Google Earth was launched, which provided 3D views of the planet. Today, Google Earth includes more than 36 million square miles of high-definition satellite imagery.
– In December 2005, Portland, Oregon, became the first city to use Transit Trip Planner, helping travelers see public transportation schedules and routes. It started out as a standalone product, but eventually folded into Google Maps.
An initial version of traffic conditions in Maps for computers. Google Maps introduced real-time traffic information for more than 30 U.S. cities two years after launch
– About two years after launching Google Maps, the company introduced real-time information on traffic conditions in more than 30 U.S. cities.
– Google Street View was released on May 29, 2007. Many of us will remember seeing a Google car go by capturing images of the streets.
– In November 2007, Maps switched to mobile. Google released version 2.0 of Google Maps for mobile, available for Blackberry, Palm and other devices. Its first Android app was launched in 2008, followed by the iOS app in 2012.
Google Trekkers could help fill in the gaps in Google Maps by taking a 360-degree camera housed in a backpack on hiking
– In 2012 he introduced the Street View Trekker, which allowed him to capture images that are difficult to access on foot using high-tech equipment packed in his backpack.
– In November 2015, Google launched offline maps, allowing offline users to benefit from Google’s driving directions and search for specific destinations.
– Live View appeared in February 2019, which uses augmented reality to help users understand how to walk, with clearly overlapping arrows and directions.
Augmented reality on Google Maps helps users reach their destination