Google Maps is great – except when it’s not. Missing roads, incorrect street names, closed bridges and more can hinder your travels. And by “disrupting your travels”, I mean that leave you with blind rage when you step on the gas while trying to figure out where the hell you need to go when Maps takes you the wrong way. But these frustrating inaccuracies are bound to become less and less, thanks to a new resource powered by crowds.
Google Maps is launching the ability for users to “draw” on missing roads and correct other details directly from Maps in a Workspace.
“Add missing roads by drawing lines, rename roads quickly, change roads directionality and realign or exclude incorrect roads. You can even leave we know if a road is closed with details like dates, reasons and directions, ”Google wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
To make an edit, go to Maps in your browser and click on the menu button in the upper left corner and scroll down to “Edit the map”. From there, you can draw on a missing road or make other edits. Of course, leaving this feature unchecked would be a nightmare that would make Maps a disaster quickly unusable. Therefore, before making any changes, Google will review any user-suggested editions or additions before implementing them on Maps.
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The drawing feature was not yet available when we tried to use it (you can already suggest edits, but the drawing is not there yet), but GGoogle says it will be available in 80 countries in the coming months.
In addition to adding the drawing feature, Google also added the ability for people to add “photo updates” to the businesssses or other places separate from comments. So if, for example, you want others to know that parking on a local trail is only big enough for two cars, you can take a picture and post it on Maps as a simple warning. To access this feature, just click on a location and click on the Updates tab, where you will find the option to upload a photo.
Navigation apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze (which Google also has) remain one of the most useful types applications, providing tangible value – while swallowing our data to further solidify corporate surveillance built into contemporary life. But even if navigating the implications of privacy seems to shake your fist in a pitch-dark room, with these new updates, at least navigating your next trip should be a little less unpredictable.