Google MAPS Updated Easier To Add Places And Suggest Changes In Maps.
Now Google has made it easier for a user to add places or advice edits in Google Maps on their Android or iOS devices, or via Google Search results, by rolling out the functionality worldwide. The purpose is to further crowdsource the information about businesses and landmarks through the world so that users have access to updated information.
Some users have seen these features quietly rolling out for a while, but today Google made them official in a blog post. Recommended edits and missing places are the big changes. If a specific location user visit isn't on Google Maps, the user can add it by dropping a pin on the map. In the same way, if you're at a place in Maps, but some of the information in the listing is wrong, the user can suggest an edit.
Apart from these additions, the search giant wants to offer a "deeper understanding of places", and permits users to share more information about a location via Google Maps for Android. For example, now user can add particular things like the kind of vibe that a place has, or the kind of food that a place serves.
There’s more to a place than its business hours or address—we might want to know if a place has a romantic vibe, serves vegetarian food or offers outdoor seating. Now on Google Maps for Android and when searching on our mobile phone, we can contribute what we know about a place so that others can take advantage from the info as well. Knowing these types of details helps us form a deeper understanding of a place so we can better help users find the places most applicable to them.
For sure, all of this information is useless if it cannot be verified. There are always those few bad apples out there that will fake information just because. That said, Google is sort of crowdsourcing the verification process now. If a location has an incomplete suggestion, a user will see a notification that “Someone suggested new info.” If a user selects the notification, a user will be able to verify that information. And if a user is not quite sure, Google Maps will even give them the ability to call up the place and verify information.
Once a recommended edit receives sufficient votes to make Google feel confident it’s accurate, those proposals will be placed on the map.
Together, these new changes let people who are aware with their neighborhoods help deliver correct, trustworthy information about their favorite haunts and hidden gems. So now when searching for useful information about a place on Google Maps or Search, we’ll get an even better image of the ever-changing world around us.
Announcing the new features in a blog post, Google Maps, and Local Search Product Manager, Nirav Mehta, said, "Together, these new changes let people who are familiar with their neighborhoods help provide accurate, reliable information about their favorite haunts and hidden gems. So now when searching for useful information about a place on Google Maps or Search, you'll get an even better representation of the ever-changing world around us."
Google has been making some additions to its Maps app and just last month, it updated its Android version to permit navigation to multiple destinations.