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Google LatLong (75 unread)

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March 20, 2023
3:00
How to keep using Google Maps even when your phone is offline
» ‎ Google LatLong

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These simple steps will help you keep using Google Maps offline when you don’t have an internet connection.
February 27, 2023
15:00
Check out Street View’s new collection with McLaren Racing
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Check out our all-new, immersive Street View collection of the McLaren Technology Center.
February 22, 2023
20:40
5 Google tools to make day-to-day math a lot easier
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Try out these Google products to make math a little easier.
February 16, 2023
19:00
13 tips to help you start running in 2023
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Use Google Maps, Workspace, Fitbit and Pixel to hit your running goals in 2023.
February 08, 2023
15:10
New ways Maps is getting more immersive and sustainable
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Announcing the launch of immersive view, updates to Live View, new EV charging tools, and glanceable directions on Maps.
December 16, 2022
18:00
5 sustainability updates from 2022 that are good for you — and the Earth
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Make the eco-friendly choice, the easy choice with updates you may have missed this year from Maps, Flights, Search and Pixel.
December 14, 2022
18:00
Gorillaz turn the world into a stage with augmented reality
» ‎ Google LatLong

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The Gorillaz band re-invents the music video and concert going experience using ARCore Geospatial API.
November 17, 2022
15:00
New Maps updates to help you make the most of the holidays
» ‎ Google LatLong

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More intuitive, sustainable, and accessible ways to explore and navigate during the holidays with Google Maps
November 09, 2022
20:00
13 surprising ways we've collected Street View imagery around the world
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Here are 13 interesting ways we've collected Street View imagery, including filming on camelback, diving underwater and more.
14:00
New feature to help people navigate the energy crisis in Europe
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Learn more about our new Search feature that helps people in Europe navigate the energy crisis this winter.
November 07, 2022
14:00
5 Google Maps tips for less stress this holiday season
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Navigate the 2022 Holiday season with ease using expert Google Maps tips to save money, time, and your sanity.
14:00
The best times for holiday travel and shopping, according to Maps data
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Navigate the 2022 Holiday season with ease using Google Maps traffic, popular times, and activity trends to beat the rush and avoid crowds.
October 26, 2022
18:00
Kwentuhan: Sharing our stories this Filipino American History Month
» ‎ Google LatLong

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A Q&A Filipino Googler Network Executive Sponsor celebrating Filipino American History Month
September 28, 2022
19:50
Search outside the box: How we're making Search more natural and intuitive
» ‎ Google LatLong

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At Search On, we showed how we’re transforming our products to reflect how people naturally seek and make sense of information.
19:45
New ways to make more sustainable choices
» ‎ Google LatLong

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We’re dedicated to helping one billion people make more sustainable choices in their daily lives. Here’s how we’re helping people do that.
19:25
4 new updates that make Maps look and feel more like the real world
» ‎ Google LatLong

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At Search On, we’re sharing how advancements in computer vision and predictive models help us build a more informative, fully immersive Map.
September 07, 2022
6:00
More ways to drive sustainably and save money with Google Maps
» ‎ Google LatLong

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In addition to showing the fastest route, Google Maps will now also display the most fuel efficient one, if it’s not already the fastest.
August 03, 2022
15:00
Supporting Asian-owned businesses in your community
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Google is announcing the launch of a new Asian-owned attribute that will be available on Search and Maps for business owners in the U.S.
13:00
Googlers for climate: meet Lisa Arendt
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Introducing just one of our colleagues who works on sustainable projects and products.
July 27, 2022
9:01
Three new Maps updates to help plan your next adventure
» ‎ Google LatLong

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New Maps updates: Check out landmarks in aerial view, more detailed cycling information and an update to location sharing.
9:01
Three new Maps updates to help plan your next adventure
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Who’s got those summertime feelings? If the warmer months have you feeling extra inspired — and excited — to get outside and explore with friends, Google Maps can help you transform the way you coordinate plans and stay connected this summer and beyond. Whether you’re checking out top landmarks in a new city, planning to hop on your bike, or hanging out with friends around town, these updates have you covered.

Experience global landmarks in a whole new way

The summer travel season is in full swing, and people are turning to Google Maps to plan their trips and find helpful information about places they plan to visit — like what time a place is open and how crowded it is. To help you with the trip-planning process, we’re bringing photorealistic aerial views of nearly 100 of the world’s most popular landmarks in cities like Barcelona, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo right to Google Maps. This is the first step toward launching immersive view — an experience that pairs AI with billions of high definition Street View, satellite and aerial imagery.

Say you’re planning a trip to New York. With this update, you can get a sense for what the Empire State Building is like up close so you can decide whether or not you want to add it to your trip itinerary. To see an aerial view wherever they’re available, search for a landmark in Google Maps and head to the Photos section.

See photorealistic aerial views of iconic landmarks, right from Google Maps

Get ready for your ride with new cycling route information

More people are hopping on their bikes! Over the past few months, cycling has increased by more than 40% worldwide – which is no surprise given that the warmer weather and high gas prices have people opting for more sustainable transportation choices. Google Maps has provided cycling directions for over 12 years thanks to AI paired with data from cities, trusted cartographic partners and feedback from the Google Maps community. With our new cycling route information, you will soon be able to easily compare bike routes and see even more granular details (when this data is available) to prepare for the ride ahead.

Just get cycling directions to any destination. In addition to seeing the elevation along your route, you’ll also know if you’ll encounter heavy car traffic, stairs or steep hills. You’ll also be able to get a highly detailed breakdown of the route itself so you can know at a glance what type of road you’ll be biking on – like a major road vs. a local street. Gone are the days of unknowingly pedaling up a strenuous hill or on a route with more car traffic than you’re comfortable with.
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Be prepared for your ride with more detailed cycling route information

Stay connected and safer on the go

More social outings means more time juggling meetups with friends and family. With new location sharing notifications, you can see when a loved one has arrived or left a place so you can more easily coordinate schedules and have peace of mind. Say you’re headed to a concert with a group of friends. If they’ve already chosen to share their location with you, you can set a notification for the concert venue’s address so you can see when they’ve arrived and meet up quickly. You could also set a notification to see when they’ve left the venue — just in case you get split up. One of the ways I plan to use this feature this summer is when I set out on my solo hiking trip. By asking my sister to set a notification for me so she can see when I’ve returned to the trailhead parking lot gives me peace of mind that someone will know that I made it back safely.

We’ve built this feature with privacy at the forefront. Notifications can only be set for someone who has already chosen to share their location with you. The person who’s shared their location with you will receive multiple reminders to let them know — including both a push notification in the Maps app and an email, along with recurring monthly emails. As always, you’re in control: you choose to stop sharing your location or block someone from setting notifications altogether.

Stay coordinated and have peace of mind with new location sharing notifications

Frequent reminders and strong controls: block notifications or stop sharing altogether

Aerial views of landmarks and location sharing notifications are rolling out now globally on Google Maps on Android, iOS and desktop, with cycling route information launching in the coming weeks in the hundreds of cities where cycling directions are available.
July 22, 2022
18:00
I’m excellent at planning vacations — steal my tips
» ‎ Google LatLong

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A self-proclaimed “travel nerd’s” guide to using Google tools for vacation planning.
18:00
I’m excellent at planning vacations — steal my tips
» ‎ Google LatLong

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I once read that the happiest part of traveling is the planning, and I couldn’t agree more. Before I board a plane, I spend hours researching and documenting the what, where and how of my vacation. Over the past two years I’ve traveled far less than usual, but this year my husband and I decided to go to Italy. It was our first time there, and one of our biggest trips since COVID hit, so I took prepping to a new level. Here’s how I, a self-proclaimed travel nerd, used Google tools to get ready for my getaway.
1. Get everyone on board with Google Slides.
About a month before our trip, I realized we’d done it all wrong. We weren’t going to have enough time to go hiking, and we were adding unnecessary hours of driving — and with increasing gas prices, that would end up costing way too much. Telling your travel partner you want to start over mere weeks before your trip is tough, and I knew I needed to really sell it…so I made a Google Slides presentation.

One of the many slides I used to convince my husband we needed to replan our trip.

I’ve used Slides for vacation planning in the past, too — and not just to blow everything up and start over. I’ve also presented what I’ve learned about various travel destinations we’re considering to make a decision. This helps me think clearly about what I want out of a vacation; it feels a bit like I’m vision-boarding the potential trip. And apparently it’s a great selling point, because my husband was completely on board by the end of the presentation.

2. Go off the beaten path with Google Maps.

I often find myself aimlessly “wandering” around Google Maps and Street View, looking for unusually shaped peninsulas or clicking into 360-degree photos that seem impossible to have captured. It’s a great way to cure wanderlust from home, but it’s also an effective way to plan travel. This was how I found a few of our stops in Italy.

A little Google Maps “wandering” led me to the town of Sirmione. It caught my eye because it’s basically an island in Italy’s Lake Garda: A narrow road connects Sirmione to the mainland; it’s so tiny that most people park on one side and walk over to the rest of the city, going by foot or golf cart.

An aerial shot of Sirmione taken by my husband.

It’s a place I’ve never heard of, and likely never would have gone.

This is also how we found one of our favorites hikes. The Dolomites are massive — choosing where to visit was overwhelming. But my husband noticed an interesting looking area on Google Earth called Seceda (the fact that it was labeled “Seceda famous view” on Google Maps didn’t hurt our interest either). That was enough for us to add it to our itinerary, and I couldn’t be happier that we did — see for yourself.

3. Take organization to another level with Google Sheets.

Using Google Sheets to organize various parts of a trip is admittedly very obvious compared to my first two tips, but here’s how I like to set things up: I have three pages in a Sheet file — one that functions as a list of things to do in each location, one that lists all of our reservation information and a last tab to collect expenses as we accumulate them while planning and during the course of the trip.

I like to think of everything listed on this first tab as something potentially worth checking out versus something that’s set in stone. This way, we don’t have to waste time while there looking things up — now if we’re ever wondering “what should we do here?” we can turn to the list for quick, easy access to already researched options.

4. Hit the Search bar…and then the Save button.

I’ve always found it easy to find amazing restaurants and shops when I want to travel, but not quite as simple to grasp what the best outdoor areas are — I want to find the best spot for a sunset, or a viewpoint for an afternoon walk. I’ve found more than a few breathtaking sights by heading to Search and simply entering the name of the city I’m visiting. On the right-hand side, there’s a Knowledge Panel about the location with information like the weather, elevation and local time. Below this is a section that says “Plan a trip,” and underneath that a camera icon next to the words “Things to do.”

And that is how I found arguably the cutest landmark in existence, this “Kiss…Please” sign in Sirmione.

I saved the location straight from this panel so it automatically saved to google.com/travel, and we easily found it when we stopped in the city.

We had to!

5. Stay on budget with a bunch of Google tools.

Traveling is expensive, and while this was definitely a trip we planned and saved for, we were very conscious of not exceeding our budget. I used three Google tools to help us do that. First up, Google Flights. Ahead of buying our flights, I created various alerts to airports in Italy to find the best price and timing. (I also used this feature to price hotels.) Then, while we were there, we used Google Maps’ toll feature, so we could avoid more expensive routes. And of course, there’s the aforementioned Google Sheets tab to collect expenses.

All of these things helped me plan (and thoroughly enjoy planning) my trip — and obviously enjoy the trip itself. Whenever you take your next vacation, hopefully these tips are just as useful for you.
July 12, 2022
8:00
Inside Scoop: National Ice Cream Day with Google Maps
» ‎ Google LatLong

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To celebrate National Ice Cream Day, we’re sharing the top-searched ice cream trends and chains on Google Maps.
8:00
Inside Scoop: National Ice Cream Day with Google Maps
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What better way to beat the hot summer heat than with ice cream? We’re not the only ones who crave this sweet treat. In fact, of all the dishes searched on Google Maps in the U.S., ice cream is the second most-searched. So with National Ice Cream Day on July 17, we couldn’t resist a sweet opportunity to celebrate!

Whether you prefer an elaborate cone, a simple scoop, or chasing the ice cream truck for your favorite popsicle, we have Google Maps ice cream trends that are sure to make you melt.

Here are the most popular ice cream chains in each U.S. state in one fell scoop 🍨:

We all scream for ice cream! There are tons of waffle-y beloved local ice cream spots across the U.S. According to Google Maps, these are the ten most popular:
1. Sundaes and cones (New York, NY)
2. Soft Swerve Ice Cream (New York, NY)
3. Milk & Cream Cereal Bar (New York, NY)
4. Surreal Creamery (New York, NY)
5. Glazier Rolled Ice Cream & Boba Tea (San Francisco, CA)
6. Cones Artisanal Ice Cream Since 1998 (New York, NY)
7. Little Man Ice Cream (Denver, CO)
8. Toscanini’s Ice Cream (Cambridge, MA)
9. Sweet Alchemy Ice Creamery (Seattle, WA)
10. Shug’s Soda Factory and Ice Cream (Seattle, WA)
Just desserts. Ice cream is the top searched dessert on Google Maps in the U.S., but which states love ice cream the most? These are the top 10 states where anything is popsicle, according to Google Maps data:
1. Hawaii
2. Rhode Island
3. Colorado
4. Massachusetts
5. New York
6. Vermont
7. Florida
8. Maine
9. New Hampshire
10. Utah
Who says you have to stick to Sundae Funday? Saturday is the most popular day people search for ice cream on Google Maps. So treat yourself this weekend by heading to your favorite spot, or discovering a new one! We even cone-done spoiling your dinner, because you de(soft)serve it!🍦
June 22, 2022
15:00
Taking pride in our businesses
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Google is announcing the launch of a new LGBTQ+ owned attribute that will be available on Search and Maps for business owners in the U.S.
15:00
Taking pride in our businesses
» ‎ Google LatLong

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A couple of years ago, my partner and I moved to Kentucky, not knowing anyone in the state. Before moving, I extensively researched local websites and online magazines, trying to understand the neighborhoods and get a sense of the community. Somewhere along the way I found Lussi Brown Coffee Bar, a local business run by by a queer woman. Not knowing whether I’d get a response, I eagerly reached out through email, asking questions to get a sense of the community. To my delight, the owner, Sarah Brown (she/they), quickly responded and provided an overview of the rich history of the LGBTQ+ community in Lexington. And of course, she shared recommendations of some of their favorite LGBTQ+ owned businesses in the state too!

As we moved into town, Sarah and their girlfriend welcomed us with open arms, very much making the community immediately feel like home. And our physical home brought that same love, too. Unintentionally, we rented an apartment on a short street filled with LGBTQ+ folks from their 20s through their 70s — in fact, our neighbors called it Kentucky’s “Barbary Lane,” a nod to the tight knit, beloved street of LGBTQ+ folks in Armistead Maupin’s novel “Tales of the City.”

Owner Sarah Brown (she/they) outside of their coffee shop, Lussi Brown

With that same spirit, we want to make it easier for others to find LGBTQ+ owned businesses in their own community. Starting today, merchants in the U.S. with a verified Business Profile on Google can add an LGBTQ+ owned attribute to their profile, making it easier for customers to find and support them through Search and Maps. This new offering joins the Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned business attributes we already offer, and is yet another way people can support diverse businesses.

As we celebrate Pride, it’s important to remember visibility and representation are critical, all year round. A flag in the window of a small business has the power to bring queer folks together, to celebrate our joy, honor our history, and fight for our diverse community. It’s our hope that this attribute will allow business owners to celebrate their identity and community with the world.
June 15, 2022
19:00
5 of our favorite Android widget features
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Android widgets are an easy way to personalize your Home screen, putting the actions and information that’s most important to you, front and center.
19:00
5 of our favorite Android widget features
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Widgets are a simple way to personalize any Home screen, putting the information that’s most important to you — your inbox, the weather, your to-do list or even a photo of your dog — front and center.

With the upcoming launch of the nearby traffic widget for Google Maps (more on that soon), 35 Google widgets will be available on Android. To celebrate, we’re spotlighting five of our favorite widget features to help everyone better organize and personalize their Home screens.
Check local traffic with a tap
Whether you’re commuting or heading out to meet friends, Google Maps’ real-time traffic predictions can help you easily plan your route. And with the new nearby traffic widget, launching in the coming weeks, you’ll see this information for your current location right from your Android Home screen. So if you're about to leave home, work, school or anywhere else, you’ll know at a glance exactly what local traffic might be like. And because Android widgets are tappable, you can zoom in and out without opening the Maps app.
Tap to instantly archive emails
The Gmail widget is a simple way to keep your inbox organized. Just tap to archive an email when it hits your inbox, without having to open the Gmail app.
Scroll through your to-do list
Lots of you love the scrollable to-do list in the Keep widget. It’s an easy way to keep track of your tasks for the day, and there’s nothing quite as satisfying as crossing them off when you’re done — except maybe scrolling back up to see everything you accomplished.
Skim through your favorite translations
The Google Translate widget’s scrolling feature can help you stay organized, too. If you need to keep certain phrases handy while you’re traveling or speaking with friends and family, you can set them up to always appear on your Home Screen. Just star your favorite translations in the app and you’ll see them right on the widget.
Resize widgets to fit your needs
Android widgets are easy to resize and even change shape to help you declutter your Home screen — while keeping helpful features intact. For example, if you make the Drive widget smaller, it’ll turn into a toolbar so you can still quickly search for your files.
June 08, 2022
21:00
Get some fresh air outdoors with Google
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Learn more about the air quality in your area to help you stay safe this summer.
21:00
Get some fresh air outdoors with Google
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As temperatures heat up and summer officially begins across the United States, many of us are taking the opportunity to explore the great outdoors. If you have an adventure on the horizon, here are two ways you can use Google tools to stay safe and healthy during your summer activities.
Check the air quality before you head out
When you're visiting a new place or planning outdoor activities, it can be helpful to know the air quality conditions — like whether it’s unusually smoggy. Check out the air quality layer on Google Maps for both Android and iOS, to help you make more informed decisions about whether it’s safe to go on a hike or other outdoor adventures. You’ll see Air Quality Index (AQI), a measure of how healthy (or unhealthy) the air is, along with guidance for outdoor activities, when the information was last updated, and links to learn more.

The air quality layer shows trusted data from government agencies, including theEnvironmental Protection Agency in the U.S. We are also showing air quality information fromPurpleAir, a low-cost sensor network which gives a more hyperlocal view of conditions. To add the air quality layer to your map, simply tap on the button in the top right corner of your screen, then select Air Quality under Map details.

You can also view air quality information from PurpleAir on Nest displays and speakers. The broad coverage of PurpleAir sensors means significantly more people in the U.S. will be able to access vital air quality information directly from their Nest devices.
Be prepared during wildfire season
In recent years, wildfires have intensified and increased across the United States and around the world. Google Search interest in “Best air filters for wildfire smoke” and “Best mask for wildfire smoke” has doubled over the past year in the U.S. As wildfire season approaches, these Google features can help you safely navigate wildfires.

Before you head out, turn on the wildfire layer in Google Maps to see more details about active fires in the area thanks to our partnership with the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Or, for larger wildfires, you can use Search to look up "wildfires near me", and we'll surface associated air quality information along with useful information about the fire. In the coming months, we’re also adding smoke data across the U.S. from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to our air quality information on Google Search.

We collaborate closely with partners in the weather and air quality space to surface helpful and authoritative information when you need it most. As you head out on hikes, camping trips and other outdoor adventures, we hope these tools help you feel safe and informed so you can enjoy the summer.
May 24, 2022
11:01
Street View turns 15 with a new camera and fresh features
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Fifteen years ago, Street View began as a far-fetched idea from Google co-founder Larry Page to build a 360-degree map of the entire world. Fast forward to today: There are now over 220 billion Street View images from over 100 countries and territories — a new milestone — allowing people to fully experience what it’s like to be in these places right from their phone or computer. And Street View doesn't just help you virtually explore, it’s also critical to our mapping efforts — letting you see the most up-to-date information about the world, while laying the foundation for a more immersive, intuitive map.

While that’s all worth celebrating, we aren’t stopping there. Today, we’re unveiling Street View’s newest camera, giving you more ways to explore historical imagery, and taking a closer look at how Street View is powering the future of Google Maps.
Bringing Street View to more places with our newest camera
From the back of a camel in the Arabian desert to a snowmobile zipping through the Arctic, we’ve gotten creative with the ways we’ve used Street View cameras to capture imagery. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that our world changes at lightning speed. Our hardware is one way we’re able to keep up with the pace.

In addition to our Street View car and trekker, we’re piloting a new camera that will fully roll out next year to help us collect high-quality images in more places. This new camera takes all the power, resolution and processing capabilities that we’ve built into an entire Street View car, and shrinks it down into an ultra-transportable camera system that’s roughly the size of a house cat. But unlike house cats, it’s ready to be taken to remote islands, up to the tops of mountains or on a stroll through your local town square.

Here’s a quick look at our new camera system:
- It weighs less than 15 pounds. This means it can be shipped anywhere. This is especially handy when we work with partners around the world to capture imagery of traditionally under-mapped areas — like the Amazon jungle.
- It’s extremely customizable. Previously, we needed to create an entirely new camera system whenever we wanted to collect different types of imagery. But now, we can add on to this modular camera with components like lidar — laser scanners — to collect imagery with even more helpful details, like lane markings or potholes. We can add these features when we need them, and remove them when we don’t.
- It can fit on any car. Our new camera can be attached to any vehicle with a roof rack and operated right from a mobile device — no need for a specialized car or complex processing equipment. This flexibility will make collections easier for partners all over the world, and allow us to explore more sustainable solutions for our current fleet of cars — like plug-in hybrids or fully electric vehicles. You’ll start seeing our new camera in fun Google colors alongside our iconic Street View cars and trekkers next year.
Traveling back in time with Street View 🕰️
Street View is all about capturing the world as it changes, and it’s also a powerful way to reminisce about the past. Starting today on Android and iOS globally, it’s now easier than ever to travel back in time right from your phone. Here’s how it works:

When you’re viewing Street View imagery of a place, tap anywhere on the photo to see information about the location. Then tap "See more dates" to see the historical imagery we’ve published of that place, dating back to when Street View launched in 2007. Browse each of the images to see a digital time capsule that shows how a place has changed — like how the Vessel in New York City’s Hudson Yards grew from the ground up.
Building a more helpful, immersive map 🗺️
Street View is also an essential part of how we map the world. Here’s a look at how imagery helps us do that:
- Updates to business information that reflect your changing world. We use Street View imagery coupled with AI to make helpful updates to Google Maps — such as adding newly opened businesses, surfacing new hours at your favorite restaurants and updating speed limit information. In fact, over the last three years, AI has helped us make over 25 billion updates to Maps so you can be confident that the information you’re seeing is as fresh and up-to-date as possible.
- Easier than ever navigation, indoors and out. Street View imagery powers popular features like Live View, which allows you to use your phone’s camera to overlay navigation instructions on top of the real world so you can walk to your destination in a snap.
- Immersive view helps you know before you go. Thanks to advances in computer vision and AI over the last several years, we’re able to fuse together billions of Street View and aerial images to create a rich, digital model of places around the world. With our new immersive view launching later this year, you can easily glide down to street level on Maps and even check out the inside of a business as if you were walking around.
In celebration of Street View’s birthday, you’ll have the opportunity to make your navigation icon a celebratory Street View car – just tap the chevron when you’re in driving navigation. And on desktop, our beloved Pegman – who you can pick up and drop anywhere in Maps to see Street View – will be dressed up in a birthday hat and balloons for the celebration.

To keep the celebration going, check out our newest collections of places like The Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan and Les Invalides in France, popular spots to explore with Street View and some of our all-time favorite Street View images to date. Oh the places you’ll go! 🎈
11:01
Street View turns 15 with a new camera and fresh features
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Fifteen years ago, Street View began as a far-fetched idea from Google co-founder Larry Page to build a 360-degree map of the entire world. Fast forward to today: There are now over 220 billion Street View images from over 100 countries and territories — a new milestone — allowing people to fully experience what it’s like to be in these places right from their phone or computer. And Street View doesn't just help you virtually explore, it’s also critical to our mapping efforts — letting you see the most up-to-date information about the world, while laying the foundation for a more immersive, intuitive map.

While that’s all worth celebrating, we aren’t stopping there. Today, we’re unveiling Street View’s newest camera, giving you more ways to explore historical imagery, and taking a closer look at how Street View is powering the future of Google Maps.
Bringing Street View to more places with our newest camera
From the back of a camel in the Arabian desert to a snowmobile zipping through the Arctic, we’ve gotten creative with the ways we’ve used Street View cameras to capture imagery. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that our world changes at lightning speed. Our hardware is one way we’re able to keep up with the pace.

In addition to our Street View car and trekker, we’re piloting a new camera that will fully roll out next year to help us collect high-quality images in more places. This new camera takes all the power, resolution and processing capabilities that we’ve built into an entire Street View car, and shrinks it down into an ultra-transportable camera system that’s roughly the size of a house cat. But unlike house cats, it’s ready to be taken to remote islands, up to the tops of mountains or on a stroll through your local town square.

Here’s a quick look at our new camera system:
- It weighs less than 15 pounds. This means it can be shipped anywhere. This is especially handy when we work with partners around the world to capture imagery of traditionally under-mapped areas — like the Amazon jungle.
- It’s extremely customizable. Previously, we needed to create an entirely new camera system whenever we wanted to collect different types of imagery. But now, we can add on to this modular camera with components like lidar — laser scanners — to collect imagery with even more helpful details, like lane markings or potholes. We can add these features when we need them, and remove them when we don’t.
- It can fit on any car. Our new camera can be attached to any vehicle with a roof rack and operated right from a mobile device — no need for a specialized car or complex processing equipment. This flexibility will make collections easier for partners all over the world, and allow us to explore more sustainable solutions for our current fleet of cars — like plug-in hybrids or fully electric vehicles. You’ll start seeing our new camera in fun Google colors alongside our iconic Street View cars and trekkers next year.
Traveling back in time with Street View 🕰️
Street View is all about capturing the world as it changes, and it’s also a powerful way to reminisce about the past. Starting today on Android and iOS globally, it’s now easier than ever to travel back in time right from your phone. Here’s how it works:

When you’re viewing Street View imagery of a place, tap anywhere on the photo to see information about the location. Then tap "See more dates" to see the historical imagery we’ve published of that place, dating back to when Street View launched in 2007. Browse each of the images to see a digital time capsule that shows how a place has changed — like how the Vessel in New York City’s Hudson Yards grew from the ground up.
Building a more helpful, immersive map 🗺️
Street View is also an essential part of how we map the world. Here’s a look at how imagery helps us do that:
- Updates to business information that reflect your changing world. We use Street View imagery coupled with AI to make helpful updates to Google Maps — such as adding newly opened businesses, surfacing new hours at your favorite restaurants and updating speed limit information. In fact, over the last three years, AI has helped us make over 25 billion updates to Maps so you can be confident that the information you’re seeing is as fresh and up-to-date as possible.
- Easier than ever navigation, indoors and out. Street View imagery powers popular features like Live View, which allows you to use your phone’s camera to overlay navigation instructions on top of the real world so you can walk to your destination in a snap.
- Immersive view helps you know before you go. Thanks to advances in computer vision and AI over the last several years, we’re able to fuse together billions of Street View and aerial images to create a rich, digital model of places around the world. With our new immersive view launching later this year, you can easily glide down to street level on Maps and even check out the inside of a business as if you were walking around.
In celebration of Street View’s birthday, you’ll have the opportunity to make your navigation icon a celebratory Street View car – just tap the chevron when you’re in driving navigation. And on desktop, our beloved Pegman – who you can pick up and drop anywhere in Maps to see Street View – will be dressed up in a birthday hat and balloons for the celebration.

To keep the celebration going, check out our newest collections of places like The Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan and Les Invalides in France, popular spots to explore with Street View and some of our all-time favorite Street View images to date. Oh the places you’ll go! 🎈
7:01
HBD to us! Let’s celebrate with Street View adventures
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Street View is turning 15, and the birthday nostalgia is hitting us hard.

In 2007, we published our first Street View images of San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Denver. Since then, Street View cars equipped with cameras have captured and shared more than 220 billion Street View images and mapped 10 million miles — the equivalent of circling the globe more than 400 times! We’ve also captured Street View imagery inside cultural landmarks, high up in space and deep under the ocean.

To celebrate Street View’s 15th birthday, we’re sharing 15 amazing Street View collections — including three places the world’s been loving lately, four new collections (consider this our party favor to you), and Street View images that make us feel some kind of way. So raise your glasses — er, cursors — and let's cheers to exploring the world together.
Where you’ve been exploring and new places to go
With so many places and landmarks at your fingertips, three spots in particular piqued your interest over the past year. Here are the three most popular places to explore on Street View: head up to the 154th floor of the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, which was named the world’s tallest building; the iconic Eiffel Tower in France, complete with dazzling views of Paris from the top; and our special collection of imagery from the Taj Mahal in India.
- Street View imagery from the top window of Burj Khalifa overlooking the city of Dubai.
  Burj Khalifa (United Arab Emirates): Named the world’s tallest building, you can use Street View to explore from the ground level up to the 154th floor!
- A Street View image gazing up at the Eiffel Tower from ground level.
  Eiffel Tower (France): If you haven’t had the chance to visit the Eiffel Tower or are just missing the views, Street View lets you gaze up at the Iron Lady or catch a glimpse of Paris from the top.
- A Street View image of the Taj Mahal with people standing in front of it.
  Taj Mahal (India): While Street View has yet to launch in India, you can still explore a special collection of imagery from the Taj Mahal.
And for your next Street View excursions, we’ve started rolling out four new collections that we think will become all-time favorites.

The">[https:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPNNorgDK_UvL3nnBRBoavtadXIiN-qMEQEXIy0%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi4.271074-ya35.73761-ro19.641052-fo100!7i7680!8i3840!9m2!1b1!2i19">The] Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan: Thanks to new panoramic imagery, explore the ancient pyramids that are home to tombs of the kings and queens of the Kushite Kingdom.

The Duomo in Milan: The Duomo is the largest cathedral in Italy and the third-largest cathedral in Europe. Not to mention, it boasts one of the best views of Milan. We’ve been working with Google Arts & Culture and the Duomo of Milan since 2019 to bring imagery from inside the Duomo to Street View so that everyone can get a behind-the-scenes look at this architectural and cultural gem — and it’s now live!

Les Invalides in Paris: Before the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides’ golden dome was the highest point in Paris. New images of the historic Hôtel des Invalides buildings let you explore its museums and monuments. Learn more about French military history viaa virtual tour.

Sydney Ferries in Australia: The iconic Sydney Ferries will soon be digitally preserved as a result of our work with Transport for New South Wales and Transdev. Later this year, we’ll bring this collection onto Street View so that people around the world can take a virtual tour of Sydney Ferries and get a glimpse of the journey along Sydney’s stunning harbor.
8 Street View images we love
With endless places to explore, it’s difficult to pick favorites — really, you should have seen the list we narrowed this down from — but we gave it our best shot. Here are eight Street View images we love.

Does the thought of visiting an active volcano scare you? Us too! A New Zealand-based Googler took a trekker into the active Ambrym Volcano Marum Crater in Vanuatu so you don’t have to.

Monemvasia is a Greek town that’s name is derived from two Greek words meaning “single entry.” Fittingly, there is only one way into this rock fortress. Explore the town on Street View without the headache of getting there.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland is a UNESCO site with a chamber where all decorative elements are made of salt.

Calling all scary movie buffs! Can you guess which 1998 horror film this active volcano in Japan served as a backdrop for? (Hint: the title rhymes with “The Wing.”)

Does Petra, Jordan look familiar? How about here? The filming location has made cameos in a number of movies, including “Aladdin,” “The Mummy Returns,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Thanks to a collaboration with NASA, Street Viewers can get a taste of what it’s like to be an astronaut. Ditch the gravity and float through the International Space Station.

Dive into the Pacific Ocean and swim with sea lions off the shore of the Galapagos Islands.

And if there’s one Street View image that lives in our heads rent free… it's this horse eating a banana on the side of the road in Canada.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done to capture so much of the world’s wonder, history and quirkiness in Street View. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a shout out to all of the Maps users around the world who have captured and shared their own Street View imagery. To help make exploring the world together even easier, we’re launching Street View Studio — a new platform with all the tools you need to publish 360 image sequences quickly and in bulk. Check out more ways we’re advancing Street View so we can explore together for another 15 years.
7:01
HBD to us! Let’s celebrate with Street View adventures
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Street View is turning 15, and the birthday nostalgia is hitting us hard.

In 2007, we published our first Street View images of San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Denver. Since then, Street View cars equipped with cameras have captured and shared more than 220 billion Street View images and mapped 10 million miles — the equivalent of circling the globe more than 400 times! We’ve also captured Street View imagery inside cultural landmarks, high up in space and deep under the ocean.

To celebrate Street View’s 15th birthday, we’re sharing 15 amazing Street View collections — including three places the world’s been loving lately, four new collections (consider this our party favor to you), and Street View images that make us feel some kind of way. So raise your glasses — er, cursors — and let's cheers to exploring the world together.
Where you’ve been exploring and new places to go
With so many places and landmarks at your fingertips, three spots in particular piqued your interest over the past year. Here are the three most popular places to explore on Street View: head up to the 154th floor of the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, which was named the world’s tallest building; the iconic Eiffel Tower in France, complete with dazzling views of Paris from the top; and our special collection of imagery from the Taj Mahal in India.
- Street View imagery from the top window of Burj Khalifa overlooking the city of Dubai.
  Burj Khalifa (United Arab Emirates): Named the world’s tallest building, you can use Street View to explore from the ground level up to the 154th floor!
- A Street View image gazing up at the Eiffel Tower from ground level.
  Eiffel Tower (France): If you haven’t had the chance to visit the Eiffel Tower or are just missing the views, Street View lets you gaze up at the Iron Lady or catch a glimpse of Paris from the top.
- A Street View image of the Taj Mahal with people standing in front of it.
  Taj Mahal (India): While Street View has yet to launch in India, you can still explore a special collection of imagery from the Taj Mahal.
And for your next Street View excursions, we’ve started rolling out four new collections that we think will become all-time favorites.

The">[https:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPNNorgDK_UvL3nnBRBoavtadXIiN-qMEQEXIy0%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi4.271074-ya35.73761-ro19.641052-fo100!7i7680!8i3840!9m2!1b1!2i19">The] Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan: Thanks to new panoramic imagery, explore the ancient pyramids that are home to tombs of the kings and queens of the Kushite Kingdom.

The Duomo in Milan: The Duomo is the largest cathedral in Italy and the third-largest cathedral in Europe. Not to mention, it boasts one of the best views of Milan. We’ve been working with Google Arts & Culture and the Duomo of Milan since 2019 to bring imagery from inside the Duomo to Street View so that everyone can get a behind-the-scenes look at this architectural and cultural gem — and it’s now live!

Les Invalides in Paris: Before the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides’ golden dome was the highest point in Paris. New images of the historic Hôtel des Invalides buildings let you explore its museums and monuments. Learn more about French military history viaa virtual tour.

Sydney Ferries in Australia: The iconic Sydney Ferries will soon be digitally preserved as a result of our work with Transport for New South Wales and Transdev. Later this year, we’ll bring this collection onto Street View so that people around the world can take a virtual tour of Sydney Ferries and get a glimpse of the journey along Sydney’s stunning harbor.
8 Street View images we love
With endless places to explore, it’s difficult to pick favorites — really, you should have seen the list we narrowed this down from — but we gave it our best shot. Here are eight Street View images we love.

Does the thought of visiting an active volcano scare you? Us too! A New Zealand-based Googler took a trekker into the active Ambrym Volcano Marum Crater in Vanuatu so you don’t have to.

Monemvasia is a Greek town that’s name is derived from two Greek words meaning “single entry.” Fittingly, there is only one way into this rock fortress. Explore the town on Street View without the headache of getting there.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland is a UNESCO site with a chamber where all decorative elements are made of salt.

Calling all scary movie buffs! Can you guess which 1998 horror film this active volcano in Japan served as a backdrop for? (Hint: the title rhymes with “The Wing.”)

Does Petra, Jordan look familiar? How about here? The filming location has made cameos in a number of movies, including “Aladdin,” “The Mummy Returns,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Thanks to a collaboration with NASA, Street Viewers can get a taste of what it’s like to be an astronaut. Ditch the gravity and float through the International Space Station.

Dive into the Pacific Ocean and swim with sea lions off the shore of the Galapagos Islands.

And if there’s one Street View image that lives in our heads rent free… it's this horse eating a banana on the side of the road in Canada.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done to capture so much of the world’s wonder, history and quirkiness in Street View. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a shout out to all of the Maps users around the world who have captured and shared their own Street View imagery. To help make exploring the world together even easier, we’re launching Street View Studio — a new platform with all the tools you need to publish 360 image sequences quickly and in bulk. Check out more ways we’re advancing Street View so we can explore together for another 15 years.
May 17, 2022
6:00
Step into the Meroë pyramids with Google
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
When you think of pyramids does your mind wander to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt or the Mayan Temples of Guatemala? Great civilizations built each of these pyramids and inscribed their stories onto the walls of them, offering glimpses into their daily life.

The Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan, while lesser known, are no different. Today, you can explore these stunning pyramids, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Google Arts & Culture.

Over 200 pyramids were constructed in Meroë, the third and final capital of the Kushite Kingdom, an ancient African civilization that ruled the lands of Nubia for over 3000 years. Now you can take a virtual walk through the Pyramids of Meroë and explore the inscriptions using Street View’s panoramic imagery. You can also learn more about the Kushite Kingdom, their royalty and the architecture behind the pyramids in an immersive web experience that’s available in a range of languages including Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish.
- A user searches Google for the pyramids of meroe, then places an Augmented Reality model in front of them
  Search for “pyramids of meroe” to explore a pyramid up close in Augmented Reality
- A series of pyramids are arranged in two rows
  Uncover the story of Meroë at g.co/meroe
- A user pans along the outline of a pyramid in Street View
  Explore these remarkable Nubian pyramids on Street View
- A series of steep pyramids extends across the horizon.
  Sudan’s Pyramids of Meroë
If you want to get even more up close and personal, you can visualize the pyramids using augmented reality — no matter where you are. You can also listen to acclaimed Sudanese-American poet Emi Mahmoud share evocative rhymes that are a beautiful ode to her homeland and to this project that shares Sudan’s rich heritage with others.

We’ve also partnered with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) to bring you more information about Meroë, Gebel Barkal and Napatan region and Sudan’s Sanganeb Marine National Park.
6:00
Step into the Meroë pyramids with Google
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
When you think of pyramids does your mind wander to the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt or the Mayan Temples of Guatemala? Great civilizations built each of these pyramids and inscribed their stories onto the walls of them, offering glimpses into their daily life.

The Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan, while lesser known, are no different. Today, you can explore these stunning pyramids, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Google Arts & Culture.

Over 200 pyramids were constructed in Meroë, the third and final capital of the Kushite Kingdom, an ancient African civilization that ruled the lands of Nubia for over 3000 years. Now you can take a virtual walk through the Pyramids of Meroë and explore the inscriptions using Street View’s panoramic imagery. You can also learn more about the Kushite Kingdom, their royalty and the architecture behind the pyramids in an immersive web experience that’s available in a range of languages including Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish.
- A user searches Google for the pyramids of meroe, then places an Augmented Reality model in front of them
  Search for “pyramids of meroe” to explore a pyramid up close in Augmented Reality
- A series of pyramids are arranged in two rows
  Uncover the story of Meroë at g.co/meroe
- A user pans along the outline of a pyramid in Street View
  Explore these remarkable Nubian pyramids on Street View
- A series of steep pyramids extends across the horizon.
  Sudan’s Pyramids of Meroë
If you want to get even more up close and personal, you can visualize the pyramids using augmented reality — no matter where you are. You can also listen to acclaimed Sudanese-American poet Emi Mahmoud share evocative rhymes that are a beautiful ode to her homeland and to this project that shares Sudan’s rich heritage with others.

We’ve also partnered with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) to bring you more information about Meroë, Gebel Barkal and Napatan region and Sudan’s Sanganeb Marine National Park.
May 11, 2022
17:17
Immersive view coming soon to Maps — plus more updates
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]

Google Maps helps over one billion people navigate and explore. And over the past few years, our investments in AI have supercharged the ability to bring you the most helpful information about the real world, including when a business is open and how crowded your bus is. Today at Google I/O, we announced new ways the latest advancements in AI are transforming Google Maps — helping you explore with an all-new immersive view of the world, find the most fuel-efficient route, and use the magic of Live View in your favorite third-party apps.
A more immersive, intuitive map
Google Maps first launched to help people navigate to their destinations. Since then, it’s evolved to become much more — it’s a handy companion when you need to find the perfect restaurant or get information about a local business. Today — thanks to advances in computer vision and AI that allow us to fuse together billions of Street View and aerial images to create a rich, digital model of the world — we’re introducing a whole new way to explore with Maps. With our new immersive view, you’ll be able to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant or popular venue is like — and even feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside. So whether you’re traveling somewhere new or scoping out hidden local gems, immersive view will help you make the most informed decisions before you go.

Say you’re planning a trip to London and want to figure out the best sights to see and places to eat. With a quick search, you can virtually soar over Westminster to see the neighborhood and stunning architecture of places, like Big Ben, up close. With Google Maps’ helpful information layered on top, you can use the time slider to check out what the area looks like at different times of day and in various weather conditions, and see where the busy spots are. Looking for a spot for lunch? Glide down to street level to explore nearby restaurants and see helpful information, like live busyness and nearby traffic. You can even look inside them to quickly get a feel for the vibe of the place before you book your reservation.

The best part? Immersive view will work on just about any phone and device. It starts rolling out in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo later this year with more cities coming soon.
Video format not supported
Immersive view lets you explore and understand the vibe of a place before you go
An update on eco-friendly routing
In addition to making places easier to explore, we want to help you get there more sustainably. We recently launched eco-friendly routing in the U.S. and Canada, which lets you see and choose the most fuel-efficient route when looking for driving directions — helping you save money on gas. Since then, people have used it to travel 86 billion miles, saving more than an estimated half a million metric tons of carbon emissions — equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road. We’re on track to double this amount as we expand to more places, like Europe.

Eco-friendly routing has helped save more than an estimated half a million metric tons of carbon emissions
The magic of Live View — now in your favorite apps
Live View helps you find your way when walking around, using AR to display helpful arrows and directions right on top of your world. It's especially helpful when navigating tricky indoor areas, like airports, malls and train stations. Thanks to our AI-based technology called global localization, Google Maps can point you where you need to go in a matter of seconds. As part of our efforts to bring the helpfulness of Google Maps to more places, we’re now making this technology available to developers at no cost with the new ARCore Geospatial API.

Developers are already using the API to make apps that are even more useful and provide an easy way to interact with both the digital and physical worlds at once. Shared electric vehicle company Lime is piloting the API in London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Madrid, San Diego, and Bordeaux to help riders park their e-bikes and e-scooters responsibly and out of pedestrians’ right of way. Telstra and Accenture are using it to help sports fans and concertgoers find their seats, concession stands and restrooms at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. DOCOMO and Curiosity are building a new game that lets you fend off virtual dragons with robot companions in front of iconic Tokyo landmarks, like the Tokyo Tower. The new Geospatial API is available now to ARCore developers, wherever Street View is available.

Live View technology is now available to ARCore developers around the world

AI will continue to play a critical role in making Google Maps the most comprehensive and helpful map possible for people everywhere.
17:17
Immersive view coming soon to Maps — plus more updates
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]

Google Maps helps over one billion people navigate and explore. And over the past few years, our investments in AI have supercharged the ability to bring you the most helpful information about the real world, including when a business is open and how crowded your bus is. Today at Google I/O, we announced new ways the latest advancements in AI are transforming Google Maps — helping you explore with an all-new immersive view of the world, find the most fuel-efficient route, and use the magic of Live View in your favorite third-party apps.
A more immersive, intuitive map
Google Maps first launched to help people navigate to their destinations. Since then, it’s evolved to become much more — it’s a handy companion when you need to find the perfect restaurant or get information about a local business. Today — thanks to advances in computer vision and AI that allow us to fuse together billions of Street View and aerial images to create a rich, digital model of the world — we’re introducing a whole new way to explore with Maps. With our new immersive view, you’ll be able to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant or popular venue is like — and even feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside. So whether you’re traveling somewhere new or scoping out hidden local gems, immersive view will help you make the most informed decisions before you go.

Say you’re planning a trip to London and want to figure out the best sights to see and places to eat. With a quick search, you can virtually soar over Westminster to see the neighborhood and stunning architecture of places, like Big Ben, up close. With Google Maps’ helpful information layered on top, you can use the time slider to check out what the area looks like at different times of day and in various weather conditions, and see where the busy spots are. Looking for a spot for lunch? Glide down to street level to explore nearby restaurants and see helpful information, like live busyness and nearby traffic. You can even look inside them to quickly get a feel for the vibe of the place before you book your reservation.

The best part? Immersive view will work on just about any phone and device. It starts rolling out in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo later this year with more cities coming soon.
Video format not supported
Immersive view lets you explore and understand the vibe of a place before you go
An update on eco-friendly routing
In addition to making places easier to explore, we want to help you get there more sustainably. We recently launched eco-friendly routing in the U.S. and Canada, which lets you see and choose the most fuel-efficient route when looking for driving directions — helping you save money on gas. Since then, people have used it to travel 86 billion miles, saving more than an estimated half a million metric tons of carbon emissions — equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road. We’re on track to double this amount as we expand to more places, like Europe.

Eco-friendly routing has helped save more than an estimated half a million metric tons of carbon emissions
The magic of Live View — now in your favorite apps
Live View helps you find your way when walking around, using AR to display helpful arrows and directions right on top of your world. It's especially helpful when navigating tricky indoor areas, like airports, malls and train stations. Thanks to our AI-based technology called global localization, Google Maps can point you where you need to go in a matter of seconds. As part of our efforts to bring the helpfulness of Google Maps to more places, we’re now making this technology available to developers at no cost with the new ARCore Geospatial API.

Developers are already using the API to make apps that are even more useful and provide an easy way to interact with both the digital and physical worlds at once. Shared electric vehicle company Lime is piloting the API in London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Madrid, San Diego, and Bordeaux to help riders park their e-bikes and e-scooters responsibly and out of pedestrians’ right of way. Telstra and Accenture are using it to help sports fans and concertgoers find their seats, concession stands and restrooms at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. DOCOMO and Curiosity are building a new game that lets you fend off virtual dragons with robot companions in front of iconic Tokyo landmarks, like the Tokyo Tower. The new Geospatial API is available now to ARCore developers, wherever Street View is available.

Live View technology is now available to ARCore developers around the world

AI will continue to play a critical role in making Google Maps the most comprehensive and helpful map possible for people everywhere.
April 29, 2022
20:00
Road tripping on Route 66
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Ninety-six years ago on April 30th, one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System was assigned its numerical designation of 66, creating what we know today as Route 66. But to say Route 66 is just a highway is a grave understatement. After all, it is the most-searched U.S. highway of all time.

One of the perks of working as a Doodler (I promise, it’s a real job) was getting to drive the 2,448-mile journey from Chicago to Los Angeles in my ‘72 Chevelle. I got to experience this captivating road trip firsthand, to create a Doodle celebrating Route 66.

This Doodle, which is essentially an animated sketchbook of various historic spots along the route, is the product of more than 100 paintings and sketches I created from the side of the road and countless U-turns. I remember being utterly lost one day, driving further and further down an old dirt road, when I finally saw an old man sitting on a lawn mower. “Is this Route 66?” I enquired. “Boy, this isn’t even Route 6!” he responded. Even the dead ends were interesting.
- Photo of Matthew at the start of Route 66 in Chicago.
  The journey begins!
- Photo of Matthew at Cadillac Ranch in Texas
  Cadillac Ranch, Texas.
- Photo of Matthew at the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica.
  2,448 miles later- The end!
If this Doodle has you feeling inspired to take a trip across Route 66, we also caught up with a member of Google Maps’ Local Guides community who has some tips of his own to help you hit the road and explore.
Local tips from a Local Guide
Rhys Martin is a Level 6 Local Guide from Tulsa, Oklahoma who also serves as the President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. Having driven all 2,400 miles of the existing route, Rhys is passionate about adding photos and reviews to Google Maps that help raise awareness for the variety of experiences — from big cities and rural communities, to farmland, mountains, deserts, mom-and-pop motels and kitschy roadside attractions — a road trip down the historic highway provides. We asked him to share his best tips, tricks and recommendations to discover and experience his favorite spots along the route.
- Discover local businesses along the route: By searching for something like “U.S Route 66 Restaurants” on Google Maps you can virtually explore restaurants or other businesses across all eight states along the route. This way, you can familiarize yourself with attractions, view how much certain restaurants cost, read reviews and even see popular menu items to help you choose places you want to visit.
- Plan your road trip with Lists in Google Maps: Once you discover the places you’re interested in visiting, save them to a list that can serve as an itinerary so you can support local businesses — and help preserve history – along the route. You can even share your list with others, or make them collaborative so you can plan together!
- A picture is worth a thousand words: Photographing the details of a place — like the decades-old neon signage or the original menus hanging behind the counter — and sharing them through reviews on Google Maps helps capture the essence of an establishment and helps others discover places they want to visit.
While Oklahoma has the most drivable miles of Route 66, Rhys says there’s so much to see in all eight states along the route. If you’re itching to plan the perfect summer road trip, check out a list of his must-see spots across Route 66 from Illinois to California.
18:15
Ease back into your office routine with Google
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]

As many people start returning to the office, we know there’s a lot to (re)figure out — like what to wear on the first day back, how long your commute will take and how to stay productive. So we’re sharing some tips for getting back into the office groove with a little help from Google products.
Rebuild a routine
Google Assistant Routines can help you automate tasks so you have less to do and think about before you head to work. Just say "Hey Google, good morning" and your Assistant can share news, weather or traffic updates, tell you what’s on your calendar, and even get your smart coffee maker started on your morning brew. You can create a Routine based on a specific schedule or when the sun rises or sets every day.
Commute with confidence
Whether you usually hop on public transit, get behind the wheel or hit the pavement, your commute may have changed since the pandemic — or, like me, you might have just forgotten how long it takes. Check Google Maps to find the ideal time to commute and the greenest route for an eco-friendlier way to get to work.

Trying to get to the office by a certain time? Set the time you’re departing or want to arrive by to see how long it’ll take you to get to your destination (and to avoid getting stuck in traffic). The “Leave on Time” feature in Google Assistant Routines can also remind you when to leave, giving you the extra nudge to head out the door.
Find your new food spot
Once you get there, Google Maps can help you find the best (and most efficient) lunch options near your office.

Use Maps’ popular times and live busyness information to see when restaurants are most crowded and which spots are likely to seat you immediately. To save even more time, you can also scan popular dishes and photos on the restaurant’s Business Profile in advance.

If you’re getting takeout, no need to miss a meeting waiting around for your delivery in your office lobby or at the restaurant. Live takeout and delivery status information lets you see the expected wait time, delivery fee and status of your order right from the Maps app — so you can make the most of your workday.
Style comfortably
Heading back to the office but not ready to dust off your work clothes? You’re not alone. In fact, “how to style sweatpants” and “work-appropriate leggings” have both been trending on Google.

Search on Google Shopping and filter by style, like joggers or leggings, to find your own office-ready sweats. Pair that with “comfortable shoes for work,” currently the most-searched shoe query, and you’ll find the perfect blend of your work-from-home and office styles.

Meanwhile, this season’s hottest work accessories are right at your fingertips. Nails are in the top-five fashion searches for back-to-the-office shopping. Check out the manicure options yourself on Google Shopping.
April 07, 2022
19:00
How AI and imagery build a self-updating map
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Building a map is complex, and keeping it up-to-date is even more challenging. Think about how often your city, town or neighborhood changes on a day-to-day basis. Businesses and shops open and close, stretches of highway are added, and roadways change. In today’s Maps 101 installment, we’ll dive into two ways Google Maps uses advancements in AI and imagery to help you see the latest information about the world around you every single day.

Automatically updating business hours

Over the past few years, businesses have experienced a lot of change — including constantly updating operating hours based on changing pandemic-related restrictions. To keep up with this pace of change, we developed a machine learning model that automatically identifies if business hours are likely wrong, then instantly updates them with AI-generated predictions.

Let’s look at Liam’s Lemonade Shop as an example. To start, our systems consider multiple factors — such as when Liam last updated their business profile, what we know about other shops' hours, and the Popular Times information for the shop, which uses location trends to show when it tends to be busiest. Since it appears that Liam’s business profile hasn’t been updated in over a year and its busiest hours are typically Thursday afternoons — even though Google Maps says that it's closed at that time — Liam’s business hours are likely out of date.

To see if business hours need updating, we check a store’s Popular Times information and when its business profile was last updated.

So what’s next? Our algorithms analyze the business hours of other nearby lemonade shops, information from Liam’s website, and Street View images of Liam’s storefront that look specifically for business hour signs to determine the most accurate business hour prediction. At the same time, we enlist the help of the Google Maps community — including Local Guides and even the business owners themselves through their Google Business Profile — to verify the information we predicted. In Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and the United States, we also use Duplex conversational technology to call businesses just like Liam’s and ask for their hours directly. With this new AI-first approach, we’re on track to update the hours for over 20 million businesses around the globe in the next six months - helping you know exactly when your favorite store, restaurant or cafe is open for business .

Road information that reflects the real world

We’re also experimenting with ways we can use imagery to make updates to other helpful information. For instance, starting in the U.S., we’re launching a third-party imagery pilot to let you see the most up-to-date speed limit information in your town, which can help keep you safe while driving. Here’s how it works:

Say our systems think that the speed limit information on a particular highway needs to be updated. With the help of third-party imagery partners that already gather roadway imagery to improve delivery routes, we can request a photo of the specific stretch of road that also includes a speed limit sign. If the partner has this photo available, we then use a combination of AI and help from our operations team to identify the sign in the image, extract the new speed limit information, and update Google Maps.

Representative imagery featuring a speed limit sign, with license plates blurred

Over time, this technology will bring more details to the map that can help make your drives safer and more efficient — like where potholes and school zones are or where new construction is happening. And as with all Google Maps features, we designed this pilot with privacy top of mind. For instance, we only reference images taken on public roads, and partners are required to blur information (like faces and license plates) to avoid potentially identifying someone. For an extra layer of privacy, we blur the photo again when we receive it and delete the photo after we use it to update the map.

AI, imagery and Duplex technology will continue to play a critical role in helping make Google Maps the most comprehensive and useful map possible. For more behind-the-scenes looks at the technology that powers Google Maps, check out the rest of our Maps 101 blog series.
April 06, 2022
15:00
Google Maps burrito trends to guac your world
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April 7 is National Burrito Day in the U.S. So get ready to roll over to your favorite burrito joint and treat yourself to the extra guac. Whether you like your burrito in a bowl or rolled, take a bite out of these Google Maps trends we’ve served up for you — from the most popular national and local burrito places to which state has the most burritos and much more.

For the love of the burrito

Nationally, we found that the most popular burrito chains in the U.S. are Chipotle, Qdoba and Moe’s. Lettuce take a look at which of these is the top-searched burrito chain in each state on Google Maps!
- Chipotle is the most popular burrito chain, ranking first among the three most popular national chains in 30 states and Washington D.C.
- Qdoba is the second most popular burrito chain, ranking first among the three most popular burrito chains in 13 states.
- Moe’s is the third most popular burrito chain, ranking first among the three most popular burrito chains in 7 states.
A burrito state of mind

We guess it's true what they say, everything’s bigger in Texas – including the number of burrito restaurants per capita! For every 10,000 residents, Texas has 4.5 burrito restaurants (or restaurants that serve burritos.) Want to know the other states that are truly burrito-ful? New Mexico comes in as a close second place for most burrito restaurants per capita, and California in third.

But having the most burrito restaurants doesn’t guarantee you the title of Google Maps’ most burrito-loving state. In fact, it's Coloradans that turn to Google Maps to search for burritos the most, with Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois and California rounding out the top five states.

Each state has its own burrito flair. If you’ve been craving something a little more authentic, we’re serving up some of the top-rated Mexican and Burrito Restaurants that identify as Latino-owned on Google Maps:
- Holy Mōlli Mexican Fusion - Greenville, SC
- Mis Moles Restaurant - Chicago, IL
- Habanero Burrito - Portland, ME
- Britos Tacos El Sombrero - Ramsey, MN
- El Pueblo Mexican Restaurant - Phoenix, AZ
- Tacos Lotería - Chicago, IL
- Daily Special Authentic Mexican Grill - Baltimore, MD
- Super Burritos Mexican Grill - Everett, MA
- Delicias Tamales & Authentic Mexican Food - La Junta, CO
- Padrino’s Mexican Restaurant - St. Louis, MO
And for those days you’re on the hunt for something more unique, like California’s fry-filled burritos in San Diego or a slathering of green chiles in New Mexico, we’re spilling the beans on the most popular local burrito spot in each state.

Alabama: El Compa Taco Truck - Birmingham, AL

Alaska: El Dorado Mexican Restaurant - Anchorage, AK

Arizona: Cocina Madrigal Tacos + Tequila - Phoenix, AZ

Arkansas: Los Ruvalcaba Mexican Restaurant - Texarkana, AR

California: La Puerta - San Diego, CA

Colorado: La Loma Bonita - Denver, CO

Connecticut: Agave Grill - Hartford, CT

Delaware: Atexquita Restaurant Mexican Grill & Bar - Newark, DE

District of Columbia: El Sol Restaurante & Tequileria - Washington, DC

Florida: Dulce Vida Mexican Restaurant - Miami, FL

Georgia: No Mas! Cantina - Atlanta, GA

Hawaii: Oahu Mexican Grill (OMG) - Honolulu, HI

Idaho: Barrigas Mexican Restaurant - Boise, ID

Illinois: La Cantina - Chicago, IL

Indiana: Loco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina - Indianapolis, IN

Iowa: Cancun Grill and Cantina - Urbandale, IA

Kansas: El Fogon - Overland Park, KS

Kentucky: Mi Casita on 4th - Louisville, KY

Louisiana: Taqueria Guerrero Mexico Inc - New Orleans, LA

Maine: Guerrero Maya - Portland, ME

Maryland: Daily Special Authentic Mexican Grill - Baltimore, MD

Massachusetts: Maria’s Taqueria - Boston, MA

Michigan: Donkey Taqueria - Grand Rapids, MI

Minnesota: Andale Taqueria - Richfield, MN

Mississippi: Los Parrilleros - Forest, MS

Missouri: Mas Tequila Cantina - St. Louis, MO

Montana: Ramires Mexican Food - Bozeman, MT

Nebraska: El Chaparro - Lincoln, NE

Nevada: El Dorado Cantina - Las Vegas, NV

New Hampshire: El Rincon Zacatecano Taqueria - Manchester, NH

New Jersey: Taqueria Downtown - Jersey City, NJ

New Mexico: Chico's Tortas y Piñas Lokas - Santa Rosa, NM

New York: Vida Verde - New York, NY

North Carolina: San Jose Tacos & Tequila - Raleigh, NC

North Dakota: Vinyl Taco - Sioux Falls, ND

Ohio: Maria’s Mexican Restaurant - Lancaster, OH

Oklahoma: Elote Cafe & Catering - Tulsa, OK

Oregon: Victorico’s Mexican Food - Hillsboro, OR

Pennsylvania: El Rey - Philadelphia, PA

Rhode Island: Caliente Mexican Grill - Kingston, RI

South Carolina: Taqueria Rocio - Ridgleand, SC

South Dakota: Que Pasa Cantina - Rapid City, SD

Tennessee: El Soñador Mexican Restaurant - Gatlinburg, TN

Texas: Granny’s Tacos - Austin, TX

Utah: Red Iguana - Salt Lake City, UT

Vermont: Gringo Jacks - Manchester Center, VT

Virginia:Tacos Los Primos - Arlington, VA

Washington: Fogón Cocina Mexicana - Seattle, WA

West Virginia: Mi Degollado Mexican Restaurant - Charles Town, WV

Wisconsin: Margarita’s of Green Bay - Green Bay, WI

Wyoming: Corona Village - Laramie, WY

However you choose to celebrate National Burrito Day, Google Maps makes it extra ch-easy to support local favorites and discover new places to explore. That’s a wrap! 🌯
April 05, 2022
19:08
Make Google Maps your copilot with these new updates
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Say goodbye to road trip and vacation planning woes with new updates to Google Maps 👋 . Whether you’re driving around a new city or heading out on a weekend road trip, we’re launching new improvements including toll prices, a more detailed navigation map, and iOS updates to help you plan your drive, save money and explore a new place.
To toll or not to toll? Pick the best route with new toll prices
Long-distance drives, poor road conditions, and heavy traffic can dampen the mood of any road trip. In those moments, you might want to take a toll road. To help make the choice between toll roads and regular roads easier, we’re rolling out toll prices on Google Maps for the first time.

Soon, you’ll see the estimated toll price to your destination before you start navigating thanks to trusted information from local tolling authorities. We look at factors like the cost of using a toll pass or other payment methods, what the day of the week it is, along with how much the toll is expected to cost at the specific time you’ll be crossing it.

Not a fan of toll roads? No problem. When a toll-free route is available, we’ll still show you that route as an option. Like always, you can choose to avoid seeing routes with toll roads completely. Simply tap on the three dots at the top right corner of your directions in Google Maps to see your route options and select ‘Avoid tolls.’

You’ll start seeing toll prices on Android and iOS this month for nearly 2000 toll roads in the U.S., India, Japan and Indonesia — with more countries coming soon.

New toll prices in Google Maps will help you decide the best route for you.
A more detailed map so you can navigate new roads with ease
Driving on unfamiliar roads can be stressful — especially when you’re driving at night or with a car full of people. We’re adding rich new details to Google Maps’ navigation experience so you can explore with confidence. You’ll soon see traffic lights and stop signs along your route, along with enhanced details like building outlines and areas of interest. And, in select cities, you’ll see even more detailed information, like the shape and width of a road, including medians and islands–you can better understand where you are, and help decrease the odds of making last-minute lane changes or missing a turn.

The new navigation map starts rolling out to select countries in the coming weeks on Android, iOS, Android Auto and CarPlay.

Google Maps will soon show traffic lights and stop signs along your route, as well as other enhanced details
Easier ways to explore on iOS
When you’re out and about, efficiency matters — whether you want to be unattached to your iPhone, use Siri to look up directions while behind the wheel, or quickly search within Google Maps. We’re rolling out new iOS updates that make Google Maps easier to use on the go.
- Access Google Maps from your home screen with new widgets: Our new pinned trip widget lets you access trips you’ve pinned in your Go Tab right from your iOS home screen — making it even easier to get directions. You can see your arrival time, the next departure for your transit trip, and even a suggested route if you’re driving. And because good things come in small packages, we’re also making the existing Google Maps search widget smaller so you can search for your favorite places or navigate to frequent destinations with one tiny tap. Make sure you have the latest version of the Google Maps app downloaded to see these widgets in the coming weeks.
- Navigate from your Apple Watch: If you have an Apple Watch and constantly find yourself away from home — and away from your phone — you’ll soon be able to get directions on Google Maps directly from your Watch. Starting in a few weeks, you’ll no longer need to begin navigation from your iPhone. Simply tap on the Google Maps shortcut in your Apple Watch app, and the navigation will start automatically on your Apple Watch. You can also add the “Take me home” complication to your watch and tap it to start the navigation home on Google Maps.
- Search and get directions with Siri and Spotlight: Google Maps is integrating directly into Spotlight, Siri, and the Shortcuts app on iOS. Once you’ve set up the shortcuts, just say “Hey Siri, get directions” or “Hey Siri, search in Google Maps” to access Google Maps’ helpful information instantly. You’ll start seeing this feature in the coming months, with enhanced Siri search functionality coming later this summer.
- iPhone home screen featuring new pinned trip widget
  Access Google Maps from your home screen with new widgets
- Black Apple Watch featuring new “Take me home” complication
  Navigate from your Apple Watch
- iPhone Shortcuts page featuring colorful boxes and the new Siri and Spotlight integrations
  Search and get directions with Siri and Spotlight
We’re always looking for more ways to bring new information to Maps to help you explore. For more on how to use Maps as your copilot for road trip travel, check out these tips.
18:49
Plan your next getaway with these 8 Google Maps tips
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The longer days in the U.S. have us chasing that windows-down-music-up-breeze-blowing kind of road trip feeling. Whether you’re planning a getaway to the coast to get a dose of Vitamin D or a weekend reunion to see friends and family, here are 8 Google Maps tips for your next road trip — which include some brand new features — so you can save money, coordinate with friends and family and plan your trip like a pro.
Save $ on the go
- Get the best gas deal near you: With gas prices skyrocketing, even the smallest difference per gallon helps! When you need to make a pit stop, use Google Maps to search for nearby gas stations and see their prices to get the best deal.
- Increase your fuel efficiency: Google Maps can help you keep your tank full a little longer by recommending the most fuel-efficient route. To turn on fuel efficient routes, tap the three dots on the directions screen, then tap ‘Route options’ and turn ‘Prefer fuel-efficient routes’ on.
- Avoid tolls: Avoid high-priced toll roads and highways when navigating to your destination. To steer clear of tolls completely, simply tap on the three dots at the top right corner of your directions in Google Maps to see your route options and select ‘Avoid tolls.’ And soon, we’ll start showing you the estimated toll price before you start navigating to help you compare and select the best route for you.
Use your vacation time wisely
- Figure out the best time to leave: Traffic to popular destinations, like the beach on a perfect summer day, can be unpredictable. To make sure you don’t get stuck in traffic for most of your drive, set the time you’d like to depart or arrive by to see how long it’ll take you to get to your destination.
- Find helpful information and save precious time: Once you arrive at your vacation destination, use the Popular Times and Live Busyness information to see when restaurants are most crowded so you can know which places are likely to seat you immediately. You can also use the popular dishes feature to quickly find out what the must-try items and local favorites on the menu are.
- Get directions quicker with new widgets: Our new pinned trip widget lets you access frequent trips that are pinned in your Go Tab directly from your iOS home screen — so you can see your estimated arrival time at the destination, next departures for transit trips, and a suggested route for driving trips. To add a widget, first make sure you have the latest Google Maps app. Then, touch and hold a widget or an empty area on your home screen until your apps jiggle, then tap ‘Add button’ in the upper-left corner. Once you find the Google Maps app, tap it, swipe to select a widget, then tap ‘Add widget.’
Plan like a pro
- Plan activities as a group: With group lists in Google Maps, planning with friends or family is simple and efficient, giving you the ability to create a vacation activity itinerary together by adding places to go and things to do as a group. Bonus tip: You can also share your real-time location with your group to make it easier to meet up or find one another if you get separated.
- Access directions offline: No service? No problem. You can still find your way even if you have spotty reception or an expensive data plan. Download a map of an area in advance so you can still access directions and turn-by-turn navigation even if you can’t get online. To do this, tap on your profile picture in Maps, tap Offline maps, then Select your own map. From here, adjust the map to cover the area you'd like to download and that will be available for you to reference on your adventures.
March 25, 2022
17:00
Empathy and trust: How 3 women influence Google products
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This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating Googlers who contribute to products and features that people rely on each day. Last week we heard from women working on our crisis hotlines and Street View. Today, we hear from three more Googlers about how they build products — like Maps, Google Assistant and Google News — with safety, empathy and collaboration in mind.
Making the internet safer for women
What do you love most about building at Google?

Few companies in the world have the level of impact that Google does. When I tell people I work on Google Maps, they tell me how much they love Maps and how it’s a part of their everyday life. That’s the best part of doing this job!

What is the best career advice another woman has given you?

I had a lot of self-doubt and uncertainty about returning to work after my daughter was born. During that period, my mother encouraged me to think beyond the initial anxiety and adapt to my new way of life as a working mother. Her simple advice was to take a long-term view of my life and happiness and make decisions based on that.

Why is it important to moderate things like reviews on Google Maps?

Women-owned businesses often face threats of trolling, shaming and digital sabotage through fake reviews and other malicious practices. To make Google Maps universally safe and trusted — especially for women — we must constantly invest in fighting abuse and misinformation.
Bringing empathy to technology
What’s early career advice you’ve gotten from another woman?

When women don’t meet every qualification on a job description, they often assume they’re not qualified for the job. A friend gave me the advice to believe in my capabilities and tell the story of what made me qualified in the moment, instead of assuming that I needed to do more or be more. It’s a mindset shift that’s allowed me to stretch and grow in unexpected ways.
When you create experiences with this in mind, it keeps you focused on being of service to people as opposed to being of service to goals or ideas.
Your work focuses on making the Assistant more empathetic. Why is empathy an important part of the user experience?

Empathy is an important part of the human experience. We need each other, and we all want to feel understood and cared for. When you create experiences with this in mind, it keeps you focused on being of service to people as opposed to being of service to goals or ideas.

Other than Google Assistant, what’s your favorite Google product or feature?

I’d be lost without Maps.
Collaborating across perspectives
How have your experiences impacted the way you build products?

Before joining Google, I’ve felt at times that my voice wasn’t heard; this led me to approach my current role with empathy and curiosity. I have a strong desire to deeply understand and incorporate a wide array of perspectives — from considering the needs of people using Google News to collaborating with others internally to create different ways to deliver essential news through the app. I believe this helps us build more inclusive experiences for people with a wide range of circumstances and needs.
Making sure everyone has equal access to this essential information empowers everyone, including women, and fuels a well-functioning society.
Why is it important for women to access quality news and information?

Everyone needs to be able to access reliable and authoritative news to make informed decisions, engage in their local community, have conversations with friends and family, and stay safe. Making sure everyone has equal access to this essential information empowers everyone, including women, and fuels a well-functioning society.
March 24, 2022
17:00
How we kept information on Maps reliable in 2021
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In a world that’s constantly changing, it’s important for Google Maps to give you the freshest, most up-to-date information possible — so you can know whether the restaurant down the street from you reopened or if your neighborhood grocery store has curbside pickup. One way we do this is through contributed content.

Every day we receive around 20 million contributions from people using Maps. Those contributions include everything from updated business hours and phone numbers to photos and reviews. As with any platform that accepts contributed content, we have to stay vigilant in our efforts to fight abuse and make sure this information is accurate. Thanks to a combination of machine learning and human operators, we continue to decrease the amount of content seen on Maps that is fraudulent or abusive – in fact, it’s less than one percent of all the content that is viewed on Maps. Today, we’re sharing more about how we kept irrelevant and offensive information off of Google Maps throughout 2021.

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How reviews on Google Maps work
A behind-the-scenes look at how we keep the local reviews on Google Maps helpful and reliable.
Read ArticleKeeping business information reliable
The world shifted throughout 2021 with the rollout of vaccines, updates to mask mandates, and new COVID variants. Our community of Maps users showed up in full force to update Google Maps with fresh information about their communities. In fact, throughout 2021, their contributions helped us add updated business information, such as a place’s hours of operation or its health and safety protocols, for 30% more businesses than in 2020.

But sometimes fraudsters try to update business information on Google Business Profiles with abusive edits. In 2021, we blocked more than 100 million of these edits from going live thanks to our continued advancements in machine learning models that improved our ability to catch bot activity and unearth suspicious activity patterns. Here’s a deeper look at the information we removed from Maps:
- Thanks to advancements in our technology, we identified and removed more than 7 million fake Business Profiles — more than 630,000 of which were reported directly to us.
- We stopped more than 12 million attempts from bad actors to create fake Business Profiles and nearly 8 million attempts from bad actors to claim Business Profiles that didn’t belong to them.
- Thanks to continued improvements in our machine learning, our technologies and teams disabled more than 1 million user accounts due to policy-violating activity, such as online vandalism or fraud.
Verifying photos, videos and reviews on Business Profiles
As the world reopened throughout 2021, people relied on Google Maps reviews to get the information they needed about places before visiting them — like what health and safety protocols were enforced or if there was outdoor dining and open spaces.

However, we also saw individuals and groups attempt to use fake reviews as a tactic to hurt local businesses — oftentimes spurred by public attention on differences in opinions. In 2021, to prevent violative content from appearing on Google Business Profiles, we put protections on over 100,000 businesses after detecting suspicious activity and abuse attempts. Here’s what else we did in 2021 in our efforts to keep the content in Google Maps reliable:
- We blocked or removed more than 95 million policy-violating reviews, over 60,000 of which were taken down due to COVID-related instances.
- We took down more than 1 million reviews that were reported directly to us.
- As a result of continued advancements in our machine learning, our technologies and teams blocked or removed more than 190 million photos and 5 million videos that were blurry, low quality, or violated our content policies.
Local knowledge that our global community contributes is a huge part of what makes Google Maps more than a navigation tool. We’ll continue to invest in keeping this information fresh and reliable so you can discover information about the world around you.
March 14, 2022
17:00
The women behind some of Google’s most impactful products
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In celebration of Women’s History Month, we talked to two women who have shaped the history of some of Google’s most impactful products. From building Google Search crisis hotlines to improving Street View and Photos, these Googlers share more about their jobs, career advice and the responsibility they feel to help others.
From seeing patients in the ER to building crisis hotlines
How does being a woman impact the features you build?

As an ER doctor, I cared for women struggling with personal crises like suicide, sexual assault and domestic violence. As a mom of two girls, I empathize with the real-world challenges these women face, like keeping their children safe and finding time to get the help they need. Listening to their stories has challenged me to identify blind spots in our design process and make sure the features we build have real-world impact. For example, we know that timely access to different communication modes is essential, so we prioritized the simplicity and visibility of phone, chat and text services when designing our hotline features.

How do the skills you learned in ER translate to your current job?

In the emergency room — much like with crisis hotlines — you never know who will walk through the door or what their situation will be. In this environment — where time is of the essence — the ability to solve problems outside of your comfort zone, work together as a team, and be agile can save lives. Bringing these skills to my role has helped me be a more effective leader and drive greater impact across our features.
Google has an opportunity to empower people to take the next steps in their journey to find help. We can pave the path from helping people find information to connecting them with timely, life-saving resources and compassionate support.
What inspired you to leave the ER and work on personal crisis hotlines at Google?

I love helping people in a moment of need — or as my mentor, Dr. Brian J. Zink, says “Anyone, Anything, Anytime.” Becoming a product manager at Google challenges me to provide support on a global scale. In urgent situations, like personal crises, Google has an opportunity to empower people to take the next steps in their journey to find help. We can pave the path from helping people find information to connecting them with timely, life-saving resources and compassionate support.
Helping others see the world in Street View
What do you love most about building products and features at Google?

Part of my personal mission is to make people happier, healthier and more productive in their day-to-day lives. When people say “this product makes life much easier" or "this feature is a great improvement,” it’s really rewarding. It makes the world feel a little smaller when someone from a completely different background experiences the same joy as I do for something I’ve built.
Feelings are just another data point, and if you pay attention they can reveal a lot.
Woman to woman, what’s the best career advice you’ve gotten?

Women in tech often avoid talking about feelings for fear of coming across as “too emotional.” So, I really appreciated it when a female mentor helped me flip that narrative. Feelings are just another data point, and if you pay attention they can reveal a lot. Feelings alone don’t give you much information, but if you take the time to ask yourself, “Why am I feeling funny about this?” you can figure out if something going on is not aligned with your values, priorities or goals. Then you can then shift from the feelings space to the logic space to figure out what to do about it.

What impactful things are you working on with Street View?

Street View is immensely valuable for getting a sense of a new place before you visit — whether for vibe, navigation or safety. Understanding what to expect when you go somewhere new can give anyone more comfort as they get things done. Right now, I’m working with my team to improve how everyone can contribute to Street View so people can get even more information about a place before they go there.
February 11, 2022
18:00
Create a work of heart on Valentine's Day with Google
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Every February, I tell myself I’m going to make homemade Valentine’s Day cards for my family and friends…and every February 13, I realize I’m nearly out of time. Add the fact that these days it’s ultimately easier to deliver digital gifts, and I’m ready to give up on the whole thing.

This year I’ve come up with a few new ideas, courtesy of apps and tools from Google. They might be made for the office or school, but there are some truly impressive ways you can use these apps for your creative endeavors. Here are five ways you can make Valentines with Google products.
1. Use Google Sheets to make some lovely pixel art (emphasis on love). You might think of invoices and project tracking when you think of Google Sheets, but it can also be a pixel art palette. These can be as simple or as complex as you want — do it yourself by selecting and coloring in Sheets cells to make an image, or search the Google Workspace Marketplace by hitting the right-hand sidebar and selecting “add ons.” (If words are more your thing, you could even try making a cute crossword puzzle.)
2. Create a digital card with Google Slides. This is an especially useful option if you aren’t able to see someone on Valentine’s Day. Make a digital slideshow full of photos, videos and notes; then you can either send the file or publish it to the web.

3. Set up a shared library with Google Photos. Use partner sharing in Google Photos to create a shared library of photos and videos for you and your better half. You can choose if you want to share all your photos or just shots of specific loved ones or pets, as well as the date you want to start sharing and Google Photos will automatically take care of the rest.

4. Send a fun Google Form to your partner. More than a couple of Google Forms used for dating purposes have gone viral, and you can put your own spin on one for the big day. Be sure to check out the Template gallery to find a look you like, or add your own images and choose a different font to make your form stand out.

5. Reminisce on romantic trips with Google Maps. Feeling nostalgic? Take a walk down memory lane with the Trips tab in Timeline to see all of the places — from beaches to cute cafes - that you visited on your last vacay.

6. Get some material from Google Assistant. Ask Google Assistant how to say “I love you” in another language, or ask for a Valentine’s Day joke or a “fact about love” to impress someone.

Or maybe you’re more interested in watching a few rom-coms on February 14. According to Google Trends, the most-searched types of romantic movies in the U.S. since 2004 are:
1. Teen romance movies
2. Black romance movies
3. Romance comedy movies
4. Sad romance movies
5. Christmas romance movies
You could take some inspiration from a few of Google Search’s trending Valentine’s Day terms from the past week — like “chick fil a valentines day tray” (+1,650%), “valentine lovebirds lego” (+600%) or “valentines crocs” (+400%). A few more breakout terms from the past month include: “valentines converse,” “starbucks valentines 2022,” “valentines coloring pages” and “nike valentines day shoes 2022.”

And if you’re still not quite sure how to celebrate, there’s one fail-safe option: chocolate. According to Google Trends, Godiva just barely took the lead over Ghiradelli in search interest in the U.S. this past week.

Also in the U.S., Google Maps searches for flower shops spike nearly 120% leading up to February 14. And if you’re thinking about celebrating with a date night…maybe start planning early: In the U.S., February 13 marks the day people most use Google Maps to search for “romantic restaurants.”
August 23, 2021
18:00
Finding belonging in Google's Aboriginal and Indigenous Network
» ‎ Google LatLong

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In 2013, the Google Earth Outreach team reached out to me with a request. They had been invited to partner on a mapping project in western Canada, and were looking for a Googler who could contribute an Indigenous perspective on cultural protocol. They asked if I would be interested in helping. “Absolutely!” was my immediate response. I’m Kanien'kehá ka, (Mohawk) and there have been times in my life and my workplace where it felt like there wasn’t space for me to be Indigenous. This was a great opportunity to lean in. There was also pressure: I could bring my perspective from my community but Indigenous communities are incredibly diverse. I hoped my Indigenous Studies degree would help me.

But the experience was a success and led to more participation in projects in the Indigenous space at Google. Since 2015, I’ve been one of the five people who lead Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous Network (GAIN), an employee-run group that gives Indigenous Googlers a safe place to nurture our communities.

Finding belonging in a workplace with a large, diverse population can be difficult. We often bend and mould ourselves to fit others’ expectations. It’s hard to be authentic. It’s hard to hold to our core values, and what truly makes us who we are. But I found this in GAIN.

GAIN is a place where we can grow and support one another. But it’s more than that. This group ensures that our communities outside of Google thrive, too. GAIN understands that the individual, family and community are all connected. No one thrives in isolation, and that’s what powers GAIN.
This work was about self-determination, and starting the process of decolonization through community empowerment.
Some work GAIN has done that we're proudest of involves creating and launching initiatives in areas like hiring, recruiting, retention, wellness, cultural events and internet connectivity in Indigenous communities. We work to shed light on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls campaigns , support Indigenous small businesses, and promote racial equity and justice initiatives. GAIN has also helped highlight educational tools such as training with ComIT, online STEMprogramming and Grow with Google, which worked with elementary school students in their local library and makerspace in Iqaluit.

We’re also working to make space for the Indigenous community internally. We have film screenings of independent Indigenous films, and have invited film makers from Wapikoni to host a discussion. Bob Joseph spoke to Googlers about what we may not know about the Indian Act, and the Cloud Sales team purchased his book for their entire team. More than 80 people in the Canadian offices are attending the University of Alberta’s free course on Indigenous Canada together.

But it was with that original Google Maps project that I found a true home. The purpose of this work is to identify Indigenous territories on Google Maps, and recognizing Indigenous independent sovereignties in the same way as other governments do on Google Maps. We also encourage Indigenous populations to take ownership of how their bands and cultures are presented online through StreetView, Earth and Maps.

When the Firelight Group (an Indigenous-owned consulting group) founded the Indigenous Mapping Workshop in 2014, they invited Google Earth Outreach as a partner and I was a member of the inaugural planning committee. We brought together 100 participants from Indigenous communities to teach them the tools needed to map out the locations their families rely on for hunting, gathering, trapping and fishing. In these workshops, we taught them how to put their own stories on their own maps, and encouraged them to take what they learned back to their communities. Maps are incredibly powerful tools in the hands of Indigenous communities, especially when they allow for our Indigenous worldview, and our Indigenous stories to be told.

This work was about self-determination, and starting the process of decolonization through community empowerment. We’ve supported Indigenous Mapping Workshops throughout Canada each year since 2014. Last year, the Indigenous Mapping Workshop went virtual and had more than 400 attendees. We expect more than 500 virtual attendees at this year’s conference, with over 100 training sessions. We’ve supported Indigenous Mapping Workshops in Australia and New Zealand as well.

This opportunity was amazing. It is an honour to spend time with other First Nations, Elders and community members. Being welcomed into communities and sharing their stories is not a gift I’ll soon forget. I am so humbled to be able to help bring these tools, stories and Indigenous voices together.

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August 09, 2021
7:00
Discover and support local bookstores with Google Maps
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Today is National Book Lovers’ Day in the U.S. Since we’ll take any excuse to celebrate our love of the written word, we’ve pulled together top U.S. trends from Search and Maps for our fellow bibliophiles out there, along with tips to hunt down local bookstores that are worth, well, bookmarking. 🔖
Page-turning book trends
- Searching with more than the Dewey Decimal system: So far this year we’ve seen millions of book-related searches on Google Maps — with searches peaking on July 11 when they were up 111% from the same day in 2020. Beach reads anyone?
- Sweet escape: This year, we’ve been looking to books to transport us to another time, place and world. The top five genres on Google Search for "Best ... books” have included fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, historical fiction and fiction so far in 2021. Meanwhile, others are looking to make this world a little better with “love,” “life,” and “mental health” among the top Google searches for “Books about…” in 2021.
- Heroes and villains: Who says comics books don’t count? More than 40 states have at least one comic book store among their top ten searched bookstores. Florida leads the pack, with eight comic book stores in its top ten most-searched bookstores on Google Maps.
Give it up for local bookstores
Now that you have some literary inspiration for your next read, here’s some tips to track down and support independent bookstores near you. And don’t worry, if you’re wondering where you are going to store and display your latest novels — you’re not alone. In January, search interest for “bookcase” hit an all time high. Here’s tips to keep those home libraries growing while showing some local bookstore love.
1. Discover bookstores near you and save to lists for a future visit. Only halfway through your most recent read, but itching to discover a spot to buy your next one? Use the Explore tab on the Google Maps app to search for bookstores near you. Scroll through the list of local favorites to find information like reviews, hours, location, and even if a bookstore is black-owned or LGBTQ friendly via the attributes on their Business Profile. Once you find a place you love, tap the Save button to add it to an existing list or start a new one for future you.
2. Follow others on Google Maps for their recommendations.Want to stay in the loop on the newest local bookstores on the block or which book shop has the best used book selection? You can follow bookstore lovers or Local Guides with a literary lean on Google Maps to easily find their recent reviews, recommendations, or photos right in your Updates tab. To follow public profiles simply tap the “follow” button on someone’s profile and get updated when they post reviews or photos. To get you started here’s recommendations from Local Guides on both coasts. If you're in New York City, Local Guides love Book Culture; and for those in Los Angeles some recommend The Book Jewel.
3. Show love for local bookstores. Leave reviews, add photos, update hours or other missing details about your favorite book stores so other bookworms can discover and learn about the spots you love.
August 03, 2021
18:00
From widgets to dark mode: 3 updates to Google Maps on iOS
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Chocolate or vanilla. 🍦 Crunchy peanut butter or smooth. Androids or iPhones. No matter what your (device) preferences are, Google Maps is here to help you navigate, explore, and get things done as easily as possible. Today, we’re rolling out three new ways to more conveniently access Google Maps’ information about the world right from your iPhone. And while we’re at it, our Googlers are sharing handy tricks you might have forgotten you could do on iOS. 😉

Share your live location right from iMessage
If you’re meeting up with friends or family, you can now share your real-time location while you’re texting so you can stay safe and never miss a beat. Just tap on the Google Maps button in iMessage and — voilà — your location will be shared for one hour by default, with the option to extend up to three days. To end your share, simply tap the “stop” button on the thumbnail.
Share your live location right from iMessage

The information you need, fast

One of Google Maps’ most powerful features is the ability to see live traffic conditions in an area. With the new nearby traffic widget, you can now access this information for your current location right from your home screen. So if you're about to leave home, work, school, or any other place, you’ll know at a glance exactly what traffic is like, and can plan accordingly.

Heading to one of your regular spots? With the new Google Maps search widget, you can search for your favorite places or navigate to frequent destinations with just a quick tap.

Access Google Maps’ helpful information right from your iPhone’s home screen.

To install either widget, make sure you have the latest Google Maps app downloaded from the App store and follow these steps:
1. From your home screen, touch and hold a widget or an empty area until your apps jiggle.
2. In the upper-left corner, tap the Add button.
3. Search for and tap the Google Maps app.
4. Swipe to select a widget, then tap Add Widget.
5. Tap Done.
Hold down an app or empty space on your home screen to start installing your new widgets.

Come to the dark side

Experiencing screen fatigue or want to personalize your app? You’re in luck: dark mode on Google Maps for iOS starts rolling out in the coming weeks so you can give your eyes a break or save on battery life. To turn it on, head to your Settings, tap on dark mode, then select “On”.

Rest your eyes and save your battery life with dark mode in Google Maps on iOS.

But that’s not all. To help you get the most out of Google Maps on iOS, check out these tips — using features both new and old — from the people behind Google Maps.

Stay safe

Google Maps has a ton of features that help me feel more safe when getting around. Whenever I head to a new place, I make sure to use the “Save my parking location” tool so I’m not wandering around looking for my car, especially if it’s dark out. And the offline maps feature is awesome. If I’m going on a hike or I know I’ll have a spotty connection, I download a map of the area to help me avoid getting lost. - Max Kaplan, Social Media

Make it YOUR map

Whenever I’m on the hunt for a new restaurant, I use the “Your Match” score to figure out how likely I am to like a spot based on my unique tastes (please tell me they have almond milk) so I never waste time and money on a place I probably won’t enjoy. When I’m looking for things to do, I turn to my Community Feed to get an overview of what’s happening in an area, including helpful information from Local Guides, businesses and articles from some of my favorite publishers like The Infatuation. - Madison Gouveia, Communications

Use your map to do good

I’m passionate about supporting a diverse set of businesses, and Google Maps makes it easy to do so. With a quick search, I can find nearby businesses that are Women, Black-owned or LGBT-friendly, and quickly learn more about their products, services, and mission with just a few taps. Then, I use Live View, our AR-powered walking directions, to quickly navigate there. - Bilawal Sidhu, Product

Make sure to check out all of today’s newest features, which will be available for everyone using Google Maps on iOS this month.
July 21, 2021
12:00
8 tips to navigate and explore safely with Google Maps
» ‎ Google LatLong

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With the state of the pandemic varying around the world, keeping up with local restrictions, navigating day-to-day life and easing back into activities we enjoy can feel confusing and unfamiliar.

To help with that, we’ve pulled together Google Maps tips — including new features and product updates — to help you safely plan your next outing, navigate how and when to get things done, and relive past adventures or plan for future ones when the time is right:
1. Plan ahead if you’re taking public transit: Before heading out, check to see how crowded your bus, train, or subway car is likely to be — so you’ll know if you’re likely to grab a seat or if you should wait for another train. You’ll be able to see transit crowdedness predictions for over 10,000 transit agencies in 100 countries around the world.
2. Find the latest information about COVID-19:Whether you’re staying close to home or taking a trip, use the COVID layer to see how cases are trending in an area. You can also access quick links to trusted local resources so you’ll know at a glance if there are specific guidelines or restrictions you need to follow.
3. Avoid crowds with live busyness information: Before you go, search for your destination on Google Maps, then scroll down on the Business Profile to see how busy a place typically is or how busy it is right now. With busyness information, you’ll know instantly you’re about to face a long line or a big crowd and can adjust your plans accordingly.
4. Reserve your spot:Many places are now appointment only. You can reserve your spot ahead of time right from Google Maps with participating businesses. Simply search for the business, check upcoming availability, and book! If you need to change something, manage upcoming reservations and bookings within the Saved tab of the Google Maps app.
5. Tap and go with contactless payments: Pay for things likestreet parking or public transit right from Google Maps without having to pull out your wallet or touch a parking meter. For street parking, type in your meter number, hit pay and refill while you’re out and about. For public transportation, a payment option will pop up once you arrive at any public transit, then tap your phone to pay.
6. Know before you go:Check out local places’ Business Profiles on Google Maps to see information like operating hours, current COVID-19 safety precautions, trending dishes and reviews.
7. Leave a review: Support local businesses you love and leave a review on Google! Now you can tap on prompts to quickly share helpful information for any restaurant in the U.S. — like the average price range or whether you dined in or ordered takeout.
8. Reminisce on past trips: Figure out where you want to go next by taking a look at where you’ve been with the Trips tab. Available to all Android users, you can now use the Trips tab to transport yourself back in time to that one dinner in Italy (you know the one) or that epic camping weekend in Big Sur. Become everyone’s go-to travel guide and export these places to a list to share.
12:00
Navigate new normals with Google Maps
» ‎ Google LatLong

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With the state of the pandemic varying across the globe, the new normal looks different depending on where you go. But no matter your situation, Google Maps has your back with new tools to help you navigate and explore as safely as possible.
Keep your distance on mass transit
It’s no surprise that transit ridership took a drastic plunge during the early days of the pandemic. While people are returning to public transit — with transit directions on Maps increasing 50% compared to last year in the U.S. — safety remains top of mind. That’s why we’re expanding transit crowdedness predictions to over 10,000 transit agencies in 100 countries so you’ll know if your line is likely to have lots of open seats, hit full capacity, or be anywhere in between. With this information you can decide whether you want to hop on board or wait for another train. Because pandemic or not, no one likes standing in a jam-packed subway car.

These predictions are made possible through our AI technology, contributions from people using Google Maps, and historical location trends that predict future crowdedness levels for transit lines all over the world. All these predictions were designed with privacy in mind. We apply world-class anonymization technology and differential privacy techniques to Location History data to make sure your data remains secure and private.

Transit crowdedness predictions are expanding to over 10,000 cities in 100 countries

In New York and Sydney, we’re piloting the ability to see live crowdedness information right down to the transit car level. This feature is powered by data from agencies like Long Island Rail Road and Transport for New South Wales, with more cities coming soon.

So how is transit crowdedness trending across the U.S.? New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington D.C. lead the pack as some of the cities with the most crowded lines. Nationally, you’re most likely to get a seat at 9 a.m, whereas cars may be standing room only between 7-8 a.m. In the evening, leaving earlier than rush hour will up your chances of grabbing a seat, with lines being far less crowded at 3 p.m. than they are between 4-5 p.m.

See live crowdedness at the transit car level in Sydney and New York
Be intentional with your time
After living through a global pandemic, people have told us that they want to be more intentional about how they spend their time. The new Timeline Insights tab, which is visible only to you, can help you do just that. If you're an Android user and you’ve chosen to turn on Location History, you’ll see a new tab in your Timeline (just tap on your profile photo, then Your Timeline to find it) that provides monthly trends about how you’re navigating the world. You’ll see which modes of transportation you’ve used and the distance and time you’ve driven, flown, biked or walked. You can also see how much time you’re spending at different places — like shops, airports and restaurants — and instantly drill down to see all the places you visited.

See helpful insights and trends about places you visit
Reminisce about past trips and plan future ones when you feel safe
If you’re feeling nostalgic but not quite ready to travel yet, head on over to the Trips in Timeline tab which is now live for everyone on Android. Use Trips in Timeline to relive parts of past vacations, like which hotels you stayed at during that epic trip to Tokyo or the restaurants you visited on your weekend getaway. Planning ahead? Export these places to a list and share them with friends who need travel recommendations.

Use Trips in Timeline to reminisce about past trips and plan new ones

If you want to edit your information, you can easily manage your data — in bulk, in-line, or with auto-delete controls — right from your private Timeline.
Leave more detailed reviews
We’re making it even easier to keep your community up to date and support local businesses with reviews. Now when you leave a review for a restaurant, you’ll see prompts to share useful information, such as price ranges or if you got takeout or delivery. Best of all: You can answer with just a few quick taps. This is now live for all restaurants in the U.S. on Android and is rolling out to iOS, with more categories and countries on the way.

Share helpful information about a restaurant with a few easy taps

Navigating this ever-changing ‘normal’ will take some getting used to, but Google Maps is here to help you get your bearings. Check out a few more helpful tips to help you plan and get around — whether you’re using Google Maps on Android or iOS.
June 29, 2021
12:00
Connecting people to food support in their community
» ‎ Google LatLong

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that followed exacerbated hunger for millions of people. Feeding America estimates that the number of those without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable food grew to 45 million people in 2020, including 15 million children. That equates to one in seven Americans and is a nearly 30% increase from 2019.

Connecting people to community food services
We know people are looking for ways to get help, including on Google Search. Over the past year, searches for "food bank near me", "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)", "food stamps application" and "school lunch pick up" reached record highs.
Starting today, you can find free food support all in one place on our new Find Food Support site. The site features a Google Maps locator tool to help you find the nearest food bank, food pantry or school lunch program pickup site in your community. We worked with No Kid Hungry, FoodFinder and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to capture 90,000 places with free food support across 50 states — with more locations to come.Helping people know they aren’t alone
Food insecurity impacts people from all walks of life — especially since the start of the pandemic. Mass school closures made food insecurity five times worse for children who previously relied on free school lunch programs. Black and Latino communities, disabled Americans and those without a college degree have been disproportionately impacted. And according to a recent survey of military families from the Military Family Advisory Network, one in five families reported experiencing food insecurity.

Still, the stigma associated with getting help can be a barrier for many. We want people to know they’re not alone. Find Food Support features stigma-busting videos demonstrating that food insecurity impacts all kinds of people, and highlights volunteers and organizations from around the country who have stepped up to feed their communities.

The site also provides links to food support hotlines, state-by-state benefit guides, and information for specific communities, such as seniors, families and children, and military families. You can also find information about how you can donate food, time and money to support those in need.

There’s a long way to go to fully solving the hunger crisis in the U.S. and around the globe, but we hope Find Food Support helps connect people in the U.S. to free food and assistance in their time of need.
June 28, 2021
10:00
A safe space that’s made to measure
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Finding a safe and welcoming space to create a bespoke outfit can be really challenging, especially when you have your own vision for your wedding day or another special occasion. While traditional tailors are great, they can sometimes fall short for people who don’t want the usual three-piece suit or long trailing dress.

But luckily, there’s Orhan Kaplan.

Orhan London Tailoring is an East-London based business that has carved a niche through its bespoke LGBTQ+ tailoring service. Having founded the business with his wife, Denise, Orhan soon discovered a strong unmet demand within the LGBTQ+ community from people who wanted to choose something other than a standard wedding dress. Recognising the needs of the community has helped shape their product offering, and celebrating their customers’ individuality has made women’s suits and non-binary tailoring a key part of their business.

As a tailoring and alterations business, being visible and accessible is fundamental for success. With their Business Profile on Google, casual shoppers who need simple alterations are able to find Orhan London Tailoring easily on Maps, while customers who need extended bookings for bespoke creations are able to swiftly organise appointments.

However, for more specialised services, such as those for their LGBTQ+ customers, Orhan and his team recognised that an often overlooked community needed something else beyond simply being able to find the business online. They needed an indicator so that LGBTQ+ people would know it’s a safe and welcoming place.
Becoming active allies
Communicating outwardly that Orhan London Tailoring is a safe space with dedicated service for the LGBTQ+ community has since become a top priority for the business. “We want people to know it’s a safe environment,” says Denise. “We want people to know that we can look after you, we understand your needs, and that we know the sort of things you’re going to ask for.''

Activating the “LGBTQ-friendly” attribute on their Business Profile has allowed Orhan to reassure the community that this is a welcoming environment. Sharing photos on their profile has also become an important part of this relationship, as potential customers are able to see other outfits the team have created for other members of the community. The positive reactions from customers, and a 75% increase in the number of women’s outfits ordered over the last three years, has been a testament to Orhan’s inclusive approach.
Connecting with the community, with help from Google
The LGBTQ-friendly feature gives businesses like Orhan London Tailoring a way to show potential customers they are inclusive and welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community – something which is more important than ever as businesses reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Stonewall’s 2017 LGBT in Britain research, 1 in 7 LGBTQ+ people report experiencing discrimination because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity when in a shop or department store. With the LGBTQ-friendly attribute, along with other inclusive attributes such “transgender safespace” and “gender-neutral restroom,” businesses are able to visibly signal that they are a safe space to users on Google Search and Maps.

For Joseph Crouch, Marketing Manager at Orhan London tailoring, these small actions are powerful markers to those who are looking for them, and have encouraged more LGBTQ+ customers to come in-store: “It’s these little things that give our customers the confidence to come and make the step.”
June 17, 2021
17:00
Now it’s easier to show what your business offers on Google
» ‎ Google LatLong

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When people search for your business on Google, it’s important to show up-to-date information and the details that make your business stand out — like what services you offer and when you're open. That’s why we’re constantly building tools that make it easier for you to update how your business appears to potential customers on Google Search and Maps.

Last year, we added ways for you to change basic business information, message your customers and see detailed insights. And now, as we head into International Small Business Week, we have even more ways for you to update your Business Profile — all directly from Search and Maps. You can add details, such as contact information and opening hours, and create Posts to share updates, like special offers or new offerings, right from Google Search. Starting next week, you’ll also be able to create Posts about upcoming events including when and where they’re happening — whether you’re throwing a reopening party or hosting an online tasting.
You can now create Posts directly from Google Search

Here are the newest ways you can use Search or Maps to share information about your business on Google. To make these updates to your Business Profile, start by logging into the Google account associated with your business. From there you can type the name of your business or ‘my business’ into Google Search or tap your profile picture followed by ‘Your Business Profile’ on Google Maps.
Show customers the services you offer
If your business offers local services — such as construction, auto repair or hair styling — you can now use the ‘Edit profile’ menu on Search to easily update the services you offer and, if applicable, the local areas you service. For beauty and personal care businesses, show off your specialties like eyelash extensions, box braids, curly hair, balayage, dreadlocks or beard trims.

Easily show customers what services you offer from the menu in Search

For those who have a service or restaurant business and work with one of our Reserve with Google partners, you can now enable online bookings through your Business Profile — right from Google Search. Once you’ve signed up with a Reserve with Google partner, you’ll see how many bookings customers have made with your business directly on Google.
Accept takeout and delivery orders
Food ordering on Google has increased more than 230% since last year thanks to a boost in demand (who else is tired of doing dishes?) and new restaurant partners. To help handle the demand, Order with Google lets food businesses accept orders for takeout and delivery directly through their Business Profile on Google Search and Maps. This makes it easier for you to reach new customers and turn searches on Google into orders.

In the coming weeks, you’ll also be able to add and update online ordering options directly from Google Search. Once enabled, you can indicate your ordering preferences for takeout and delivery to let customers know what works best for you.

To help your restaurant stand out on Google, we’ve added easier ways to share your menu. You can now add menu items to your Business Profile on Search and Maps. Simply add and edit your entire menu or featured dishes via the ‘Edit profile’ menu on Search. These new entry points help food businesses update their info and interact with customers right from the apps they already use — Search and Maps.
Accept food orders and update your menu to connect with customers on Google
Help customers find the products you sell
Shoppers are increasingly looking for products online before they head to the store. In fact, Google Searches for “who has” + “in stock” have grown by more than 8,000% year over year. In addition to being able to manually add product information to your Business Profile via Search and Maps, eligible retailers in the U.S. can get all their in-store product inventory automatically added to their Business Profile by signing up for Pointy from Google right from Google Search.

Help customers find the products you sell in-store with Pointy

Pointy removes the work of manually entering product details, which can be especially hard if you sell a lot of products. As you scan items being sold in your store, the products are automatically added to your Business Profile so that potential customers can see what’s currently in stock. Eligible retailers can now get Pointy for free through September 30.*
Keep an eye out for more
We want to help businesses stand out and reach new customers on Google. We’re continuing to find new ways that make it as easy as possible to update your Google presence. Later this summer, business owners who've started their onboarding journey but aren't yet verified will get a taste of this experience too and will be able to complete their verification journey on Search and Maps. Keep an eye out for more details in the coming months!

*Pointy Box supplies are limited and shipping may be delayed. Offer excludes ads.
June 09, 2021
12:00
New tools to support vaccine access and distribution
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Editor’s note: COVID-19 Vaccination Search Insights is now available. Find the dashboard here.

While over half of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, vaccine uptake is slowing across the country. Research shows a variety of factors are preventing people from getting vaccinated — from physical access issues, like transportation challenges and not being able to take time off work, to concerns about safety and side effects.

To help public health officials and researchers in the U.S. reach people facing these challenges, we’re introducing new tools to better understand the vaccination needs of a community. This builds on our work of providing data, insights and tools to public health, epidemiologists, researchers and policymakers since the early days of the pandemic.
Equitable access to vaccinations
For some people getting vaccinated is as simple as walking a few blocks to their local pharmacy. For others, it may be much more difficult and involve a long drive or navigating public transit. If public health officials, researchers and healthcare providers can identify areas where vaccination sites are inaccessible or hard to reach, they may be able to implement measures like pop-up vaccine sites or transportation support like ride vouchers.

Our COVID-19 Vaccination Access Dataset, which is available to the public today, calculates travel time to vaccination sites to identify areas where it may be difficult to reach a site whether someone is walking, driving or taking public transportation. We prepared this dataset using Google Maps Platform Directions API, the same API that powers navigation in Google Maps. This dataset does not contain any user data.

This dataset will help power a new Vaccine Equity Plannerdashboard from Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Boston Children’s Hospital, the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. This dashboard integrates our dataset with data from other organizations, such as the CDC’s social vulnerability index, to identify “vaccine deserts,” or areas where people have little or no convenient access to a vaccine site, to inform interventions such as pop-up clinics or new sites.

Vaccine Equity Planner dashboard for New York and Mississippi.
Understanding vaccine information needs
Public health organizations have been the go-to sources for authoritative information throughout the pandemic, and have provided educational campaigns about the safety, efficacy and availability of vaccines. We’ve heard from public health organizations and researchers that they want access to localized and timely data about what information their communities are seeking so they can tailor their communication to people not yet vaccinated.

In the coming weeks, we’ll introduce a COVID-19 Vaccination Search Insights tool to help public health officials and researchers explore vaccine-related concerns and the information needs of local communities. The tool will show trends representing the relative search interests across three search categories: all vaccine information, intent to get vaccinated (such as eligibility, availability and sites), and safety and side effects. Insights will be provided at the county and zip code level and updated weekly.

The trends are based on aggregate and anonymized Google Search data so that no user information is included. The process to anonymize the COVID-19 Vaccination Search Insights is powered by differential privacy, a technique that adds noise to the data to provide privacy guarantees while preserving the overall quality of the data. The data can be compared across different regions and over time, without sharing the absolute number of queries in any given area.

Both tools will initially be available in English and for the U.S. As we get more feedback from public health organizations, researchers, and the community at large, we’ll evaluate expanding these tools internationally.

With these insights, we hope that public health organizations and healthcare providers can more easily and effectively reach their communities. Google will continue to do its part by providing timely and accurate vaccine information and appointment availability to people in Search and supporting organizations focused on vaccine equity.
June 07, 2021
22:00
A marine biologist uses Maps to explore under the sea
» ‎ Google LatLong

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Just under the water lies one of the biggest mysteries of the Great Barrier Reef: blue holes. These underwater sinkholes give researchers a rare look at ocean life and how we can protect it. Until a few years ago, only two blue holes were documented in the entirety of the Great Barrier Reef — they are hard to find and even harder to get to.

With the help of Google Maps, marine biologist Johnny Gaskell and a team of researchers are finding previously unknown blue holes. In 2017, after witnessing Cyclone Debbie destroy many of the reefs in its path, he set out to find more blue holes. Home to hundreds of species of coral and serving as a protective waters for larger marine life, these formations give scientists a view of history buried in undisturbed sediment layers and clues about how to better protect coral reefs.

Using Google Maps’ satellite view, Johnny followed the cyclone’s path to pinpoint areas along the reef that might have been spared from damage. That’s when he spotted perfect circles along the reef, indicating a potential blue hole. The formation he identified was south of the Whitsundays in the Hard Line Reefs, a difficult-to-reach area of the Great Barrier Reef that’s dangerous to navigate. Despite this, Johnny and a team of divers headed out into the unknown, unsure of what — if anything — awaited them.
There’s still so many spots out in the Great Barrier Reef that are unexplored. Johnny Gaskell
Marine Biologist
With the satellite view of Google Maps on their phones, they navigated their boats through narrow channels in unsurveyed waters until the blue dot on their map was directly over the blue hole. Johnny dove in and found healthy coral formations that have sat undisturbed, possibly for centuries. Along the edges were delicate birdsnest corals, vibrant giant clams and huge branching staghorn corals. In the stillness of the blue hole’s center, there were green sea turtles, giant trevally and sharks that all called the dark, cool water home.
- An aerial image of a dark blue hole surrounded by lighter water.
  Using Google Maps’ satellite view, Johnny spotted perfect circles along the reef, indicating a potential blue hole. These rare underwater sinkholes offer vital information about life in the ocean.
- Johnny stands on the edge of the boat in a wetsuit, snorkeling gear and flippers.
  Once they navigated to where they thought the blue hole was, Johnny dove in.
- Johnny swimming over a coral formation surrounded by fish.
  Underwater were healthy coral formations.
- Image of pink coral surrounded by a couple of brightly colored fish.
  Home to over 400 species of hard coral, like these, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on earth.
- Johnny swims above the coral capturing images on an underwater camera.
  Scientists use the layers of sediment that collect at the bottom of blue holes to learn information about conditions in the past.
- Bright blue fish swim around the yellow coral.
  Blue holes are biodiversity hotspots. Here, fish swim around the bright yellow coral.
- Johnny in his wetsuit holds up the camera showing a picture he took of the underwater coral.
  Johnny captured images of the blue hole to help create a snapshot of reef conditions.
With the help of Google Maps, a discovery that would have taken years of underwater exploration on the seafloor is now allowing researchers to expand our understanding of the world’s largest ecosystem. Today, Johnny is still working to build a snapshot of coral reef conditions. Working with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Reef Census project, they are using geotagged images to give everyone — from scientists to students — a better idea of what’s going in depths of the water whether they dive in or not.

In 2021 the Great Reef Census is expanding to reach more reefs, collect more data, and broaden its research goals. To join the efforts, sign up as a Citizen or contribute directly via the project’s fundraising page.
June 03, 2021
12:00
The complete Google guide to summer 2021
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
The sun is shining, the days are getting longer and more and more U.S. cities are reopening — it’s official, summer 2021 is almost here. Right on time, vacation fever has hit: Google searches for “summer vacation” and “sunscreen” are seeing a major spike, and those are just a couple of the many interesting Google Trends we’ve been seeing. So we decided to collect some of this information to bring you Google’s Guide to Summer: You’ll find trending travel spots, must-eat-at restaurants and tips for finding the perfect summer gear.

To find what places are turning into vacation destinations, we looked at places with the highest percentage growth in hotel searches, comparing April 2021 to April 2019. These 10 cities saw the biggest bump in interest:

If you’re planning a trip to one of these places, the next step is deciding where to eat while you’re there. Hidden Gem restaurants are verified restaurants on Google Maps with high ratings from fewer people — which could help you avoid crowds and get an amazing meal. Check out these Hidden Gems from each of the cities listed above:

If you’re not ready to travel by plane, you’re not alone. Many people are looking into alternative transportation options or even local options, such as…
- 🚌Glamour-BUS travels:In the U.S., there are over 60% more RV-related searches on Google Maps than there were a year ago. The metro areas most interested were Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and Denver.
- 🏖️ Beachy keen:As the weather heats up, U.S. Maps searches for “beaches” are up over 40% compared to May 2020, and searches for "parks" are up over 50%.
- 🏕Happy campers: Camping-related searches on Maps are trending up nearly 90% compared to this time last year. The top five areas interested in camping are Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Denver and Seattle.
- 🚲 Tourists on tires: People are using Google Maps for cycling directions 44% more than they were in 2020. According to our cycling direction data, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C. are the cities with the most cyclists.
Related Article
Wheelie interesting Maps trends for World Bicycle Day
Google Maps data to celebrate World Bicycle Day
Read Article
Whether you hit the road (or skies) or stay put, you’ll want to grab the right gear. Try these Google Shopping power tips to find whatever you need for summer:
- Check if you’re getting a “good” price on that retro cooler: On a Shopping product page, you’ll see a price bar showing whether the price you’re seeing for that product is high, low or typical, compared to current prices from across the web and in nearby stores.
- See if an inflatable pool (or whatever else) is in stock at local stores:With Google Shopping, you can search for a product, like inflatable pools, and apply the “Nearby” filter (or include “near me” in your search) to show results from local retailers on a helpful map display, along with an indication of whether the product is in-stock.
- Compare prices and shipping options for a summer koozie:Once you’ve found your favorite koozie, scroll down on the product page and tap “Compare prices” to see all of the prices and shipping options from online and local retailers for that product. You’ll also see whether a retailer offers curbside pickup and/or the option to buy online/pickup in store.
- Use filters to find the perfect sunscreen (or other beauty products):On Google Shopping you can easily use filters to find the type of product you’re looking for. When you search “sunscreen” you can simply scroll down and on the left hand side you’ll find rating filters under “Product Rating” such as four stars and above.
- Get summer picnic or beach ideas and see product availability on Google:Google Images is a great place to find summer inspo. You can see availability information so you know if the item you're looking for is actually in stock. You can even use Lens to find that retro beach towel or picnic blanket your friend or your favorite celeb has. Once you find it, Google will give you options for how to buy it.
Consider yourself set for the summer!
12:00
The complete Google guide to summer 2021
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
The sun is shining, the days are getting longer and more and more U.S. cities are reopening — it’s official, summer 2021 is almost here. Right on time, vacation fever has hit: Google searches for “summer vacation” and “sunscreen” are seeing a major spike, and those are just a couple of the many interesting Google Trends we’ve been seeing. So we decided to collect some of this information to bring you Google’s Guide to Summer: You’ll find trending travel spots, must-eat-at restaurants and tips for finding the perfect summer gear.

To find what places are turning into vacation destinations, we looked at places with the highest percentage growth in hotel searches, comparing April 2021 to April 2019. These 10 cities saw the biggest bump in interest:

If you’re planning a trip to one of these places, the next step is deciding where to eat while you’re there. Hidden Gem restaurants are verified restaurants on Google Maps with high ratings from fewer people — which could help you avoid crowds and get an amazing meal. Check out these Hidden Gems from each of the cities listed above:

If you’re not ready to travel by plane, you’re not alone. Many people are looking into alternative transportation options or even local options, such as…
- 🚌Glamour-BUS travels:In the U.S., there are over 60% more RV-related searches on Google Maps than there were a year ago. The metro areas most interested were Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and Denver.
- 🏖️ Beachy keen:As the weather heats up, U.S. Maps searches for “beaches” are up over 40% compared to May 2020, and searches for "parks" are up over 50%.
- 🏕Happy campers: Camping-related searches on Maps are trending up nearly 90% compared to this time last year. The top five areas interested in camping are Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Denver and Seattle.
- 🚲 Tourists on tires: People are using Google Maps for cycling directions 44% more than they were in 2020. According to our cycling direction data, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C. are the cities with the most cyclists.
Related Article
Wheelie interesting Maps trends for World Bicycle Day
Google Maps data to celebrate World Bicycle Day
Read Article
Whether you hit the road (or skies) or stay put, you’ll want to grab the right gear. Try these Google Shopping power tips to find whatever you need for summer:
- Check if you’re getting a “good” price on that retro cooler: On a Shopping product page, you’ll see a price bar showing whether the price you’re seeing for that product is high, low or typical, compared to current prices from across the web and in nearby stores.
- See if an inflatable pool (or whatever else) is in stock at local stores:With Google Shopping, you can search for a product, like inflatable pools, and apply the “Nearby” filter (or include “near me” in your search) to show results from local retailers on a helpful map display, along with an indication of whether the product is in-stock.
- Compare prices and shipping options for a summer koozie:Once you’ve found your favorite koozie, scroll down on the product page and tap “Compare prices” to see all of the prices and shipping options from online and local retailers for that product. You’ll also see whether a retailer offers curbside pickup and/or the option to buy online/pickup in store.
- Use filters to find the perfect sunscreen (or other beauty products):On Google Shopping you can easily use filters to find the type of product you’re looking for. When you search “sunscreen” you can simply scroll down and on the left hand side you’ll find rating filters under “Product Rating” such as four stars and above.
- Get summer picnic or beach ideas and see product availability on Google:Google Images is a great place to find summer inspo. You can see availability information so you know if the item you're looking for is actually in stock. You can even use Lens to find that retro beach towel or picnic blanket your friend or your favorite celeb has. Once you find it, Google will give you options for how to buy it.
Consider yourself set for the summer!
June 02, 2021
14:00
Wheelie interesting Maps trends for World Bicycle Day
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Over the past year, my cycling game went up a gear. Like many people, I increasingly found myself on two wheels — taking a spin to exercise, to explore and even to run the occasional errand.

New data from Google Maps shows that people everywhere have been racking up mileage on their bikes. In celebration of World Bicycle Day, we’re sharing the latest two-wheeled trends and Maps tips so you can grab life by the handlebars — quite literally.
- Bike share in SF
  Ben shares different views from behind his handlebars.
- Pink bike
  Ben shares different views from behind his handlebars.
- Bike with Dim Sum
  Ben shares different views from behind his handlebars.
A fleeting trend or a new hobby? 🚴‍♀️
There’s an uptick of bike-related searches. While trends vary country to country, more people are using Maps to find longer cycling routes.
- Searches related to bikes continue to trend up globally. In countries like France, bike-related queries on Maps are up more than 300% compared to the end of April 2020!
- Tour de New Zealand? People in New Zealand are looking for “bike shops” 30% more than they were at the end of April 2020, signaling that their interest in cycling might even withstand the country’s approaching winter season.
- Cyclists are going the distance. Around the world, we’re seeing people take routes that are, on average, nearly 10% longer than they were in 2020. In major cities like London and San Francisco, people are using Google Maps to find cycling routes that are respectively 10 and 15 percent longer than they were compared to summer 2019. And in Ireland routes have gotten an average of 50% longer than they were just a year ago.
Cycling the way to the top 🥇
Over ten years ago, we introduced cycling directions in Google Maps and since then we’ve rolled this feature out in over 30 countries. In 2020 alone, we added over 150k kilometers of bike lanes to the Map. Here’s where people in those countries are leaning into two-wheeled transportation the most...

Top countries for biking, based on overall cycling directions usage, are Germany, the U.S, the Netherlands, Japan and France.

The top cities in the world for cycling directions are Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Munich.

In the U.S., New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC are the cities with the highest number of cycling direction requests.
Google Maps tips to inflate your cycling game 🚲
Whether you’re a cycling novice or training for the Tour de France, we have tips and tricks on how Google Maps can make cycling a breeze:
1. Find pedal bikes, e-bikes and scooters:If you don’t have a bike, we’ve got you covered. Google Maps can tell you details like the real-time availability of a shared bike, how long it’ll take to walk to get to it, and your total journey time and ETA. We plan to expand this capability with partners in 100+ cities across 25+ countries — including Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, and Boston — by the end of the year. For companies interested in being a bikeshare partner, you can learn more here.
2. Crank up (or down) the elevation:Your ideal route can change based on whether you’re going for a relaxed ride or a hill climb. When determining your route, Google Maps shows the altitude so that you can assess how flat or steep your ride will be.
3. Share your real-time location:If you’re riding with a group of cyclists, share your location via Maps so everyone can ride at their own pace and not lose touch. This is also helpful when meeting up with a friend for a ride.
4. Add multiple stops:Whether you’re stopping for a picnic, photo-op or a breather, you can easily add stops to your route. When you’re in navigation mode, tap on the three dots at the top right hand corner of the app, choose “Route options” and then tap on “Add stop.”
5. Go hands-free with Google Assistant:For more safety in the saddle, use your voice to activate and control Google Maps using Assistant.
6. Never look for your bike again: Saving parking spots isn’t just for cars. Simply tap the blue point that marks your own location and select “Save parking space.”
May 26, 2021
11:00
Plan and find your way in stations with new, accessible Maps tools
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Train stations are often busy, bustling places. Whether you’re reaching your final stop or catching a connection, finding your way through a complex or crowded station can be daunting. And for people traveling with wheelchairs, luggage, prams or crutches, there are even more factors to juggle.

In 2018, we brought wheelchair accessible routes to Sydney and other cities around the world. To build on this, we’ve been working with Transport for NSW to help people map out each stage of the journey inside the station.

To help people map out their journeys ahead of time, we’re launching indoor Street View imagery for 130 train stations and a dozen metro stations in Sydney. Starting today, you’ll be able to virtually navigate interactive, panoramic imagery inside Sydney stations, so you’ll know your way when you get there. You can also enjoy the rich history and beauty of many stations, from heritage listed St James Station, to the stunning views of Circular Quay and Milsons Point – and the thriving hub of Parramatta.
- Indoor Street View imagery of the platform at St James station in Sydney.
  Street View imagery inside St James station, Sydney
- Street View imagery of the platform at Milsons Point train station in Sydney, with a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge.
  Street View imagery on the platform at Milsons Point station, Sydney
- Street View imagery of the platform inside Circular Quay train station in Sydney, with a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge.
  Street View imagery inside Circular Quay station, Sydney
- Street View imagery showing the entrance of Parramatta train station in Sydney.
  Street View imagery at the entrance of Parramatta train station, Sydney.
For the first time in Australia, we’re also bringing detailed navigation directions for accessible routes across 70 complex train and metro stations across Sydney to Google Maps. These tools allow people to find the best and most accessible entrances, exits, signage and paths within the station and better anticipate in-transit travel times along these pathways.

Accessible navigation directions on Google Maps on desktop

And as a world first, we’re sharing these navigation directions with Transport for NSW so it can be published to the NSW government’s Open Data Portal. This will allow the transport industry and app developers to access this valuable information and find more solutions to enable accessible transit travel in the future.

To find these accessible navigation directions for your route on desktop or mobile, type your destination into Google Maps. Tap “Directions”, then select the public transport icon and any route options (such as “wheelchair accessible”, “fewer transfers” and “less walking”). After you tap your chosen route, the detailed navigation instructions will be displayed if your route takes you through a complex station in Sydney.

Accessible in-station directions in mobile view

Whether you are planning or navigating your commute, we hope these tools make Sydney stations feel a little more familiar – and help you commute with more confidence.
11:00
Plan and find your way in stations with new, accessible Maps tools
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Train stations are often busy, bustling places. Whether you’re reaching your final stop or catching a connection, finding your way through a complex or crowded station can be daunting. And for people traveling with wheelchairs, luggage, prams or crutches, there are even more factors to juggle.

In 2018, we brought wheelchair accessible routes to Sydney and other cities around the world. To build on this, we’ve been working with Transport for NSW to help people map out each stage of the journey inside the station.

To help people map out their journeys ahead of time, we’re launching indoor Street View imagery for 130 train stations and a dozen metro stations in Sydney. Starting today, you’ll be able to virtually navigate interactive, panoramic imagery inside Sydney stations, so you’ll know your way when you get there. You can also enjoy the rich history and beauty of many stations, from heritage listed St James Station, to the stunning views of Circular Quay and Milsons Point – and the thriving hub of Parramatta.
- Indoor Street View imagery of the platform at St James station in Sydney.
  Street View imagery inside St James station, Sydney
- Street View imagery of the platform at Milsons Point train station in Sydney, with a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge.
  Street View imagery on the platform at Milsons Point station, Sydney
- Street View imagery of the platform inside Circular Quay train station in Sydney, with a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge.
  Street View imagery inside Circular Quay station, Sydney
- Street View imagery showing the entrance of Parramatta train station in Sydney.
  Street View imagery at the entrance of Parramatta train station, Sydney.
For the first time in Australia, we’re also bringing detailed navigation directions for accessible routes across 70 complex train and metro stations across Sydney to Google Maps. These tools allow people to find the best and most accessible entrances, exits, signage and paths within the station and better anticipate in-transit travel times along these pathways.

Accessible navigation directions on Google Maps on desktop

And as a world first, we’re sharing these navigation directions with Transport for NSW so it can be published to the NSW government’s Open Data Portal. This will allow the transport industry and app developers to access this valuable information and find more solutions to enable accessible transit travel in the future.

To find these accessible navigation directions for your route on desktop or mobile, type your destination into Google Maps. Tap “Directions”, then select the public transport icon and any route options (such as “wheelchair accessible”, “fewer transfers” and “less walking”). After you tap your chosen route, the detailed navigation instructions will be displayed if your route takes you through a complex station in Sydney.

Accessible in-station directions in mobile view

Whether you are planning or navigating your commute, we hope these tools make Sydney stations feel a little more familiar – and help you commute with more confidence.
9:00
Street by street: How we’re mapping air quality in Europe
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]

Since 2015, dozens of Street View cars outfitted with pollution sensors have been cruising the roads to track air quality in cities all over the world — from Oakland to Sydney. Over the past six years, these cars have collected more than 100 million street-by-street air quality measurements, all for Project Air View — our effort to bring detailed air quality maps to scientists, policymakers and everyday people. These hyperlocal air quality measurements are helping governments and communities make more informed choices about changes that can help city residents breathe cleaner air.

In celebration of EU Green Week next week,we are sharing a new air quality map for Copenhagen and recently started working with the City of Dublin to collect air quality measurements with Aclima technology in our first-ever, all-electric Street View car. This is all part of Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), our free tool that provides thousands of cities with actionable data and insights to reduce their emissions.

Capturing air quality in CopenhagenIn 2018, we started mapping hyperlocal air quality in Copenhagen, working closely with the City of Copenhagen and Utrecht University, in collaboration with Aarhus University. The map — which is already being put to use — includes measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon, and ultrafine particles. Through mapping street-by-street air quality we found that Copenhagen’s major access roads have nearly three times more ultrafine particles and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and five times higher black carbon levels when compared to less trafficked residential areas.
This air quality map shows the street-by-street average of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Utrecht University & Google, 2021.

Armed with these air quality insights, the City of Copenhagen and urban planners are working to design future neighborhoods that include “Thrive Zones.” These zones aim to build places, like schools and playgrounds, away from high-pollution zones to provide young children with access to cleaner air. The city also plans to use the air quality data to encourage more sustainable transportation and create healthier bicycle and walking routes away from car traffic.

An all-electric Street View car hits the road in DublinWe’ve also partnered with the City of Dublin to gather hyperlocal air quality measurements in Ireland’s capital, where our first all-electric Street View vehicle, a Jaguar I-PACE, has hit the roads. This is the first time an all-electric Google Street View car is being used to capture air pollution and greenhouse gas measurements and Google Street View imagery — a feat made possible due to Jaguar Land Rover engineers integrating Google's Street View technology and specialized Aclima sensors into the vehicle.10:25
Our Jaguar I-PACE is able to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and ozone (O3). Aclima’s platform analyzes and quality assures pollution measurements to develop these maps.

The road ahead
Project Air View’s air quality insights will be integrated into the European Commission-funded European Expanse project, which is exploring how pollution is impacting the health of Europeans and how hyperlocal air quality measurement efforts can inform policy development.

We also plan to equip more Street View cars with air quality mapping capabilities so that we can continue sharing hyperlocal air quality insights. By mapping air quality in more cities, we can equip people with the information they need to create more sustainable cities that protect the health of everyone.
9:00
Street by street: How we’re mapping air quality in Europe
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]

Since 2015, dozens of Street View cars outfitted with pollution sensors have been cruising the roads to track air quality in cities all over the world — from Oakland to Sydney. Over the past six years, these cars have collected more than 100 million street-by-street air quality measurements, all for Project Air View — our effort to bring detailed air quality maps to scientists, policymakers and everyday people. These hyperlocal air quality measurements are helping governments and communities make more informed choices about changes that can help city residents breathe cleaner air.

In celebration of EU Green Week next week,we are sharing a new air quality map for Copenhagen and recently started working with the City of Dublin to collect air quality measurements with Aclima technology in our first-ever, all-electric Street View car. This is all part of Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), our free tool that provides thousands of cities with actionable data and insights to reduce their emissions.

Capturing air quality in CopenhagenIn 2018, we started mapping hyperlocal air quality in Copenhagen, working closely with the City of Copenhagen and Utrecht University, in collaboration with Aarhus University. The map — which is already being put to use — includes measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon, and ultrafine particles. Through mapping street-by-street air quality we found that Copenhagen’s major access roads have nearly three times more ultrafine particles and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and five times higher black carbon levels when compared to less trafficked residential areas.
This air quality map shows the street-by-street average of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Utrecht University & Google, 2021.

Armed with these air quality insights, the City of Copenhagen and urban planners are working to design future neighborhoods that include “Thrive Zones.” These zones aim to build places, like schools and playgrounds, away from high-pollution zones to provide young children with access to cleaner air. The city also plans to use the air quality data to encourage more sustainable transportation and create healthier bicycle and walking routes away from car traffic.

An all-electric Street View car hits the road in DublinWe’ve also partnered with the City of Dublin to gather hyperlocal air quality measurements in Ireland’s capital, where our first all-electric Street View vehicle, a Jaguar I-PACE, has hit the roads. This is the first time an all-electric Google Street View car is being used to capture air pollution and greenhouse gas measurements and Google Street View imagery — a feat made possible due to Jaguar Land Rover engineers integrating Google's Street View technology and specialized Aclima sensors into the vehicle.10:25
Our Jaguar I-PACE is able to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and ozone (O3). Aclima’s platform analyzes and quality assures pollution measurements to develop these maps.

The road ahead
Project Air View’s air quality insights will be integrated into the European Commission-funded European Expanse project, which is exploring how pollution is impacting the health of Europeans and how hyperlocal air quality measurement efforts can inform policy development.

We also plan to equip more Street View cars with air quality mapping capabilities so that we can continue sharing hyperlocal air quality insights. By mapping air quality in more cities, we can equip people with the information they need to create more sustainable cities that protect the health of everyone.
May 20, 2021
18:00
16 updates from Google I/O that’ll make your life easier
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Part of our mission is to help make your daily life easier. At I/O this year, we shared news about a wide range of products and services that’ll do just that, from starting your car with your phone to searching your screenshots using Google Lens. Here are just a few of the features you should keep an eye out for.
Quickly view your notifications, invoke Google Assistant on Android.
Android 12 includes the biggest design change since 2014. We rethought the entire experience, from the colors to the shapes, light and motion, and made it easier to access some of the most used features:
- To invoke Google Assistant wherever you are, long press the power button.
- Swipe down to view your new notification shade, an at-a-glance view of all your app notifications in one place.
- And to make it easier to access everything you need, Google Pay and Device Controls have been added to your customizable quick settings.
Learn about all the big changes in Android 12.
Manage your privacy settings more easily on Android.
On top of the new design changes, we’ve also launched a new Privacy Dashboard, giving you easy access to your permissions settings, visibility into what data is being accessed and the ability to revoke permissions on the spot. You also have new indicators that let you know when apps are using your microphone and camera, as well as a way to quickly shut off that access. And we’ve added new microphone and camera toggles into quick settings so you can easily remove app access to these sensors for the entire system. Learn about new privacy controls in Android 12.
Change the channel with your phone.
Lost your TV remote? Don’t sweat it — we’re building remote-control features directly into your Android phone. Another bonus: If you need to enter a long password to log into one of your many streaming services subscriptions, you can save time and use your phone’s keyboard to enter the text. This built-in remote control will be compatible with devices powered by Android TV OS, including Google TV, and it’ll roll out later this year. Learn more about how we’re helping your devices work better together.

Use your phone to enter your password for your streaming services.
And unlock your car with your phone while you’re at it.
We’re working with car manufacturers to develop a new digital car key in Android 12. This feature will enable you to use your phone to lock, unlock and even start your car — and in some cases you won’t even need to take it out of your pocket. And because it’s digital, you’ll also be able to securely and remotely share your car key with friends and family if needed. Read more about Android Auto.
Understand more about your Search results.
When you’re looking up information online, it’s important to check how credible a source is, especially if you aren’t familiar with the website. Our About This Result feature in Google Search provides details about a website before you visit it, including its description, when it was first indexed and whether your connection to the site is secure. This month, we’ll start rolling out About This Result to all English results worldwide, with more languages to come. And later this year, we’re going to add even more helpful contextual details — like how the site describes itself, what other sources are saying about it and related articles to check out.
Change your password using Chrome and Assistant.
Chrome on Android will help you change your passwords with a simple click. On supported sites, whenever you check your passwords and Chrome finds a password that may have been compromised, you will see a "Change password" button from Assistant. Powered by Duplex on the Web, Assistant will not only navigate to the site, but actually go through the entire process of changing your password for you. This feature is already available for purchasing movie tickets, ordering food, and checking into flights.
Use Google Lens to translate your homework into a language you’re more comfortable with.
Google Lens enables you to search what you see — from your camera, your photos and even your search bar. For a lot of students, their schoolwork might be in a language they’re not as comfortable with. That’s why we’re updating the Translate filter in Lens, making it easy to copy, listen to or search translated text in over 100 languages. Learn more about how information comes to life with Lens and AR.
And search your screenshots with Google Lens.
Lots of people take screenshots of things they’re interested in buying — but it can be hard to follow up on those screenshots afterward. Now when you look at any screenshot in Google Photos, we’ll prompt you to search the photo with Lens. This will help you find that pair of shoes or wallpaper pattern that you liked so much.

Search your screenshots using Google Lens.
When shopping online, keep track of your open carts when you open a new tab.

Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you: You’ve got a browser open to do some online shopping, but then you get distracted and open up two, three, or 10 other windows — and you forget what you were online to do in the first place. We’re introducing a new feature in Chrome that shows you your open carts when you open a new tab. No more lost shopping carts here.
And get the best value for products you’re buying online.
Coming soon, we’ll let you link your favorite loyalty programs from merchants like Sephora to your Google account to show you the best purchase options across Google. Learn more about all our latest shopping updates.
Explore unfamiliar neighborhoods with more detailed views in Maps.
If you’re traveling by foot, augmented reality in Live View will show you helpful details about the shops and restaurants around you – including how busy they are, and recent reviews and photos. And if you’re traveling, Live View will tell you where you are relative to your hotel – so you can always find your way back.
Avoid the crowds with area busyness.
Maps already shows the busyness of specific places — in fact, more than 80 million people use the live busyness information on Google every day. Now we’re expanding that functionality to show the busyness of an entire area, allowing you to see just how bustling a neighborhood or part of town is at any given moment. This means that if you want to keep things low-key, you can use Maps to see the hotspots to avoid. And if you’re looking for the most popular places to visit, you can use area busyness to scope out the liveliest neighborhoods at a glance.
See breakfast spots in the morning and dinner joints at night.
We’re updating Maps to show you more relevant information based on what time of day it is and whether you’re traveling. That means we’ll show you things like coffee shops in the morning, when you need that caffeine fix, and burger joints at night, when you’re hungry for dinner. And if you’re on a weekend getaway, we’ll make tourist attractions and local landmarks easier to spot. Learn more about our latest updates to Maps.
Discover unexpected Memories in Photos.
Starting later this summer, when we find a set of three or more photos with similarities like shape or color, we'll highlight these little patterns for you in your Memories. For example, Photos might surface a pattern of your family hanging out on the same couch over the years — something you wouldn’t have ever thought to search for, but that tells a deeply meaningful story about your daily life. Learn more about Little patterns in Photos.
Bring your pictures to life with Cinematic moments.

When you’re trying to get the perfect photo, you usually take the same shot two or three (or twenty) times. Using neural networks, we can take two nearly identical images and fill in the gaps by creating new frames in between. This creates vivid, moving images called Cinematic moments. Producing this effect from scratch would take professional animators hours, but with machine learning we can automatically generate these moments and bring them to your Recent Highlights. Learn more about Cinematic moments.

Cinematic moments will bring your photos to life.
Transform how you work with smart canvas in Google Workspace.
As part of our mission to build the future of work, we’re launching smart canvas, a bunch of exciting updates across Docs, Sheets and Meet. New features include interactive building blocks—smart chips, templates, and checklists—as well as a new pageless format in Docs and emoji reactions. We're also bringing Meet closer to Docs, Sheets and Slides, and much more. See all of the big updates to Google Workspace.
15:00
How anyone can make Maps more accessible
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With Google Maps, we want to make it easier to get around, explore and get things done for everyone — and that includes people with disabilities. One way that we make sure our Maps have up-to-date information about details, like if a restaurant has tables suitable for people who use wheelchairs, is through our community of Local Guides. In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we’re sharing tips from some of these people about how anyone can contribute to a more accessible world — both on and off of the map.
Make an accessibility checklist for your reviews
When you add a review on Google Maps you can create your own template or accessibility checklist to make sure you have the most helpful details covered.
Tushar Suradkar, a Local Guide from India, created a system that helps him make sure all of his reviews covers the accessibility details he cares about — like if a place has tactile paths for the visually impaired, ramp access, and wheelchair-accessible entrances, restrooms, parking and elevators. Each time he leaves a review, he fills in a self-created template that makes these details clear and noticeable so people looking for this information can spot it.
Tushar’s accessibility checklist used on Google Maps reviews.
Add accessibility attributes to your business or places you’ve visited
After visiting a place or business, you can help indicate which accessibility features a place has — like whether it has a wheelchair-accessible entrance, wheelchair-accessible restroom, wheelchair-accessible parking — by answering questions about the business on the Google Maps app.

And if you’re a business owner or manager with a verified Business Profile on Google, you can add attributes to your Business Profile on Search and Maps. In addition to existing accessibility attributes, we recently added the assistive hearing loop attribute that indicates if somewhere, like a movie theater or library, has a sound system that is compatible with hearing aids. If attributes aren’t relevant to your business, you have even more ways you can make your business more accessible by using tools such as Live Transcribe, Live Caption, and TalkBack on Android.
Accessibility attributes displayed on Google Maps.
Create lists to curate accessible places on Google Maps
Another way to share local knowledge is by creating public lists on Google Maps. You can make lists of places like accessible museums in your city or the most wheelchair accessible restaurants in your neighborhood.
Asongfac Lily Rospeen, a Local Guide from the Southwest region of Cameroon, curates lists like her Accessibility Buea list that includes wheelchair accessible banks, hotels, hospitals, bookshops, pharmacies, and supermarkets in her city.Spread the word about accessibility
Let others know about all the ways they can contribute to Maps to make it more accessible through attributes, reviews and more. Take inspiration from the Local Guides community.

Emeka Ulor, a Local Guide from Nigeria, has rallied other people to add accessibility data to Google Maps and help make it more inclusive. He started the One Accessibility project, recruiting more than 20 volunteers and hosting more than 100 meet-ups to encourage people to add accessibility information to Google Maps. His reviews include information about wheelchair accessible parking, entrances, restrooms, lighting, Braille and seating to help inform people about the accessibility of their destination.
You can read more about these Local Guides and how others in the community are making Google Maps more accessible on Connect, our blog and forum for Local Guides.
May 18, 2021
20:08
Search, explore and shop the world’s information, powered by AI
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AI advancements push the boundaries of what Google products can do. Nowhere is this clearer than at the core of our mission to make information more accessible and useful for everyone.

We've spent more than two decades developing not just a better understanding of information on the web, but a better understanding of the world. Because when we understand information, we can make it more helpful — whether you’re a remote student learning a complex new subject, a caregiver looking for trusted information on COVID vaccines or a parent searching for the best route home.
Deeper understanding with MUM
One of the hardest problems for search engines today is helping you with complex tasks — like planning what to do on a family outing. These often require multiple searches to get the information you need. In fact, we find that it takes people eight searches on average to complete complex tasks.

With a new technology called Multitask Unified Model, or MUM, we're able to better understand much more complex questions and needs, so in the future, it will require fewer searches to get things done. Like BERT, MUM is built on a Transformer architecture, but it’s 1,000 times more powerful and can multitask in order to unlock information in new ways. MUM not only understands language, but also generates it. It’s trained across 75 different languages and many different tasks at once, allowing it to develop a more comprehensive understanding of information and world knowledge than previous models. And MUM is multimodal, so it understands information across text and images and in the future, can expand to more modalities like video and audio.

Imagine a question like: “I’ve hiked Mt. Adams and now want to hike Mt. Fuji next fall, what should I do differently to prepare?” This would stump search engines today, but in the future, MUM could understand this complex task and generate a response, pointing to highly relevant results to dive deeper. We’ve already started internal pilots with MUM and are excited about its potential for improving Google products.
Information comes to life with Lens and AR
People come to Google to learn new things, and visuals can make all the difference. Google Lens lets you search what you see — from your camera, your photos or even your search bar. Today we’re seeing more than 3 billion searches with Lens every month, and an increasingly popular use case is learning. For example, many students might have schoolwork in a language they aren't very familiar with. That’s why we’re updating the Translate filter in Lens so it’s easy to copy, listen to or search translated text, helping students access education content from the web in over 100 languages.

AR is also a powerful tool for visual learning. With the new AR athletes in Search, you can see signature moves from some of your favorite athletes in AR — like Simone Biles’s famous balance beam routine.
Evaluate information with About This Result
Helpful information should be credible and reliable, and especially during moments like the pandemic or elections, people turn to Google for trustworthy information.

Our ranking systems are designed to prioritize high-quality information, but we also help you evaluate the credibility of sources, right in Google Search. Our About This Result feature provides details about a website before you visit it, including its description, when it was first indexed and whether your connection to the site is secure.

This month, we’ll start rolling out About This Result to all English results worldwide, with more languages to come. Later this year, we’ll add even more detail, like how a site describes itself, what other sources are saying about it and related articles to check out.
Exploring the real world with Maps
Google Maps transformed how people navigate, explore and get things done in the world — and we continue to push the boundaries of what a map can be with industry-first features like AR navigation in Live View at scale. We recently announced we’re on track to launch over 100 AI-powered improvements to Google Maps by the end of year, and today, we’re introducing a few of the newest ones. Our new routing updates are designed to reduce the likelihood of hard-braking on your drive using machine learning and historical navigation information — which we believe could eliminate over 100 million hard-braking events in routes driven with Google Maps each year.

If you’re looking for things to do, our more tailored map will spotlight relevant places based on time of day and whether or not you’re traveling. Enhancements to Live View and detailed street maps will help you explore and get a deep understanding of an area as quickly as possible. And if you want to see how busy neighborhoods and parts of town are, you’ll be able to do this at a glance as soon as you open Maps.
More ways to shop with Google
People are shopping across Google more than a billion times per day, and our AI-enhanced Shopping Graph — our deep understanding of products, sellers, brands, reviews, product information and inventory data — powers many features that help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Because shopping isn’t always a linear experience, we’re introducing new ways to explore and keep track of products. Now, when you take a screenshot, Google Photos will prompt you to search the photo with Lens, so you can immediately shop for that item if you want. And on Chrome, we’ll help you keep track of shopping carts you’ve begun to fill, so you can easily resume your virtual shopping trip. We're also working with retailers to surface loyalty benefits for customers earlier, to help inform their decisions.

Last year we made it free for merchants to sell their products on Google. Now, we’re introducing a new, simplified process that helps Shopify’s 1.7 million merchants make their products discoverable across Google in just a few clicks.

Whether we’re understanding the world’s information, or helping you understand it too, we’re dedicated to making our products more useful every day. And with the power of AI, no matter how complex your task, we’ll be able to bring you the highest quality, most relevant results.
20:00
Get around and explore with 5 new Google Maps updates
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From the very beginning, we built Google Maps to help you connect with the real world. In 2007, we introduced Street View, the first imagery platform to show you panoramic views of streets all over the world — from Tokyo to Tonga. A year later, we let you throw away your printed directions and get real-time navigation directly from your phone. And three years ago, we were the first to launch Live View and bring AR to navigation at scale. Thanks to our deep knowledge about the world and powerful AI advancements, we’ve spent the last 16 years bringing helpful information and experiences just like these to the map. Today at Google I/O, we’re announcing five new updates so you can more easily navigate, explore and get things done.
Reduce hard-braking with routing updates
Imagine you’re driving to meet a friend. As you approach a busy intersection, the traffic slows suddenly and you have to slam on your brakes. According to research from experts at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, these hard-braking moments — incidents along a route that cause a driver to sharply decelerate — can be a leading indicator of car crash likelihood. Soon, Google Maps will reduce your chances of having hard-braking moments along your drive thanks to help from machine learning and navigation information.

Here’s how it works: Every time you get directions in Maps, we calculate multiple route options to your destination based on several factors, like how many lanes a road has and how direct a route is. With this update, we’ll take the fastest routes and identify which one is likely to reduce your chances of encountering a hard-braking moment. We’ll automatically recommend that route if the ETA is the same or the difference is minimal. We believe that these changes have the potential to eliminate 100 million hard-braking events in routes driven with Google Maps each year, so you can rely on Maps to get you from A to B quickly — but also more safely.
Walk this way with enhancements to Live View and detailed street maps
If you’re getting around on foot, we’ve got you covered with augmented reality in Live View. If you’re exploring a new neighborhood, you’ll be able to access Live View instantly — right from the map — and see helpful details about the shops and restaurants around you, like how busy they are, recent reviews and photos. We’ll also display helpful new street signs for complex intersections so you know exactly what road you’re on and which way to go. And if you’re traveling, Live View will tell you where you are in relation to places like your hotel — so you can always find your way back to home base.
- A GIF of Live View being used to explore restaurants in a New York City neighborhood
  Access Live View right from the map to quickly learn more about a place.
- A GIF of Live View showing street labels overlaid on Google Maps with augmented reality
  See street labels in Live View to help you navigate complex intersections.
- A GIF of Live View showing where you are in relation to a nearby hotel with augmented reality
  See where you are in relation to places like your home, work or hotel.
Our detailed street maps feature, which launched last August, will soon be available in 50 more cities by the end of this year — including Berlin, São Paulo, Seattle, and Singapore. With the help of AI and our understanding of cityscapes around the globe, you can see where sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian islands are, along with the shape and width of a road to scale. This information can help pedestrians plan the most accommodating route, especially if they’re using a wheelchair or stroller.

Detailed street maps are expanding to 50 more cities globally.
Spot busy areas at a glanceEach day, more than 80 million people turn to live busyness information on Google for specific places to save time waiting in line and stay socially distanced during the pandemic. Now, this is expanding to show the relative busyness of an entire area, like whether a neighborhood or part of town is busier than usual. If it’s Saturday morning and you want to explore your city without crowds bogging you down, open up Maps to instantly see busy hotspots to avoid — like the streets near the local farmers’ market. On the flip side, if you want to check out popular parts of town, use area busyness to scope out lively neighborhoods at a glance to discover interesting things to do.
Use area busyness to quickly identify where crowded areas are in a city.
A map tailored to you
Having information about the world is useful, but it can quickly become overwhelming if it’s not delivered at just the right time. To help you make sense of it all, we’re tailoring our map to highlight the most relevant places based on time of day and whether or not you’re traveling. If you live in New York and open up Maps at 8 a.m. on a weekday, we’ll prominently feature nearby coffee shops — instead of dinner spots — so you can start your day with a caffeine fix. And if you’re on a weekend getaway, it’ll be easier to spot local landmarks and tourist attractions right on the map. Want more options? Tap on any place to see similar places nearby.

See relevant places based on time of day and whether or not you’re traveling.

No matter where you’re headed or what your plans are, Google Maps has the information you need along the way and the AI smarts to get you there. All of these features start rolling out globally on Android and iOS in the coming months, with detailed street maps coming to 50 new cities by the end of the year.
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A smoother ride and a more detailed Map thanks to AI
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AI is a critical part of what makes Google Maps so helpful. With it, we’re able to map roads over 10 times faster than we could five years ago, and we can bring maps filled with useful information to virtually every corner of the world. Today, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how AI makes two of the features we announced at I/O possible.
Teaching Maps to identify and forecast when people are hitting the brakes
Let’s start with our routing update that helps you avoid situations that cause you to slam on the brakes, such as confusing lane changes or freeway exits. We use AI and navigation information to identify hard-braking events — moments that cause drivers to decelerate sharply and are known indicators of car crash likelihood — and then suggest alternate routes when available. We believe these updates have the potential to eliminate over 100 million hard-braking events in routes driven with Google Maps each year. But how exactly do we find when and where these moments are likely to occur?

That’s where AI comes in. To do this, we train our machine learning models on two sets of data. The first set of information comes from phones using Google Maps. Mobile phone sensors can determine deceleration along a route, but this data is highly prone to false alarms because your phone can move independently of your car. This is what makes it hard for our systems to decipher you tossing your phone into the cupholder or accidentally dropping it on the floor from an actual hard-braking moment. To combat this, we also use information from routes driven with Google Maps when it's projected on a car’s display, like Android Auto. This represents a relatively small subset of data, but it’s highly accurate because Maps is now tethered to a stable spot — your car display. Training our models on both sets of data makes it possible to spot actual deceleration moments from fake ones, making detection across all trips more accurate.

Understanding spots along a route that are likely to cause hard-braking is just one part of the equation. We’re also working to identify other contextual factors that lead to hard-braking events, like construction or visibility conditions. For example, if there’s a sudden increase in hard-braking events along a route during a certain time of day when people are likely to be driving toward the glare of the sun, our system could detect those events and offer alternate routes. These details inform future routing so we can suggest safer, smoother routes.
Using AI to go beyond driving
When you’re walking or biking or taking public transit, AI is also there helping you move along safely and easily. Last August we launched detailed street maps which show accurate road widths, along with details about where the sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian islands are in an area so people can better understand its layout and how to navigate it. Today, we announced that detailed street maps will expand to 50 more cities by the end of 2021. While this sounds straightforward, a lot is going on under the hood — especially with AI — to make this possible!

A before and after comparison of detailed streets maps built from satellite imagery

Imagine that you’re taking a stroll down a typical San Francisco street. As you approach the intersection, you’ll notice that the crosswalk uses a “zebra” pattern — vertical stripes that show you where to walk. But if you were in another city, say London, then parallel dotted lines would define the crosswalks. To account for these differences and accurately display them on the map, our systems need to know what crosswalks look like — not just in one city but across the entire world. It gets even trickier since urban design can change at the country, state, and even city level.
- A street-level picture of crosswalks in San Francisco
  Crosswalks in San Francisco
- A street-level image of crosswalks in London
  Crosswalks in London
- A street-level image of crosswalks in Tokyo
  Crosswalks in Tokyo
- A street-level image of crosswalks in Madrid
  Crosswalks in Madrid
- A street-level image of crosswalks in Zurich
  Crosswalks in Zurich
To expand globally and account for local differences, we needed to completely revamp our mapmaking process. Traditionally, we’ve approached mapmaking like baking a cake — one layer at a time. We trained machine learning models to identify and classify features one by one across our index of millions of Street View, satellite and aerial images — starting first with roads, then addresses, buildings and so on.

But detailed street maps require significantly more granularity and precision than a normal map. To map these dense urban features correctly, we’ve updated our models to identify all objects in a scene at once. This requires a ton of AI smarts. The model has to understand not only what the objects are, but the relationships between them — like where exactly a street ends and a sidewalk begins. With these new full-scene models, we're able to detect and classify broad sets of features at a time without sacrificing accuracy, allowing us to map a single city faster than ever before.

Single-feature AI model that classifies buildings.

Full-scene AI models that capture multiple categories of objects at once.

Once we have a model trained on a particular city, we can then expand it to other cities with similar urban designs. For example, the sidewalks, curbs, and traffic lights look similar in Atlanta and Ho Chi Minh City — despite being over 9,000 miles away. And the same model works in Madrid as it does in Dallas, something that may be hard to believe at first glance. With our new advanced machine learning techniques combined with our collection of high-definition imagery, we’re on track to bring a level of detail to the map at scale like never before.

AI will continue to play an important role as we build the most helpful map for people around the globe. For more behind-the-scenes looks at the technology that powers Google Maps, check out the rest of our Maps 101 blog series.
More from this SeriesMaps 101
Google Maps helps you navigate, explore, and get things done every single day. In this series, we’ll take a look under the hood at how Google Maps uses technology to build helpful products—from using flocks of sheep and laser beams to gather high-definition imagery to predicting traffic jams that haven’t even happened yet.
View more from Maps 101
April 22, 2021
17:00
3 ways to find and support eco-friendly places on Maps
» ‎ Google LatLong

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In an effort to be more eco-friendly, we all know that it’s best to reduce, reuse and recycle — and to support businesses and places that do the same. But it’s not always easy to know which restaurants compost or where you can recycle items, like electronics or clothing. Thankfully, Google Maps and its community of contributors are making it easier for everyone to make choices that are better for the planet.

As an active member of the Local Guides program, a global community of people who share their local knowledge and recommendations on Google Maps, Karol helps people find environmentally-friendly spots in her hometown of Posadas, Argentina.

“Posadas is truly a blessed place surrounded by nature, but it breaks my heart that it’s just taking its first steps on the path to being environmentally-friendly,” says Karol, who used the list featureon Maps to curate and share hard-to-find recycling centers in her city. “Anything that can be done to promote sustainable consumption is priceless.”

A photo of Karol at Connect Live in 2019.

Karol is no stranger to connecting people who care about the planet to the local places that do too. Here are three tips she has for finding and supporting places on Google Maps that are focused on reducing waste, reusing items and recycling materials.
Look for new recycling information on Maps and Search 👀
Now you can find out where you can recycle or properly dispose of specific items by looking at Business Profiles on Google Maps and Search. Starting today, merchants who have verified Business Profiles on Google can easily add information about what items they recycle using Google My Business. You’ll be able to see what places accept materials — like clothing, electronics, batteries, household hazardous waste, light bulbs and glass bottles — so you know you’re keeping these items out of the landfill. Soon people who visit certain locations will be prompted to answer questions in Maps after their visit so they can let others know what types of materials can be recycled.

Now businesses can let people know the types of materials they accept for recycling.
Put sustainable businesses on the map 📍
Just like Karol created a list for recycling drop-off locations in her city, she suggests building and sharing lists for all types of places and businesses that make it easier to consume responsibly. Create a list of nearby electric vehicle charging stations, local recycling centers or second-hand stores. Learn how to create and share lists of places here.

Karol is also working on creating a list of local craftspeople who upcycle. “I would like everyone in my city to be able to find skilled craftspeople who give a second life to discarded objects like toys, furniture or clothing,” she says. “It’s another baby step people can take toward a greener style of living.”

A map of Posadas showing Karol’s list of recycling centers.
Give eco-friendly businesses a boost ♻️

Finally, Karol stresses the importance of giving extra support and encouragement to businesses that are taking sustainability seriously. Contribute photos and reviews that highlight businesses that are composting and recycling — like your favorite take out spot that has minimal and compostable packaging or an image of a sign that lists what items a local recycling center accepts. If you recycle materials at a local business, you can alsosuggest an edit to their Business Profile to help let others know.

“This is our only home and as such, we owe it nothing but respect and care,” Karol says. “With all the technological breakthroughs over the last decades, with everything we know about what human development has caused to nature, we should be doing much more not only for ourselves, but the future generations and for all the other living things here.”
April 14, 2021
18:00
For National Parks Week, plan a trip with Google Maps
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I’ve ticked a lot of National Parks off my travel bucket list this past year. As parks started to reopen, I planned outdoor trips instead of international ones. And at the end of last year, my boyfriend and I packed up our apartments to cruise around the Southwest in a borrowed camper van. Along the way, Google Maps helped us plan out our days.

In Utah, we went to some of the most searched for National Parks — like Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. We used Google Maps to scope out the most scenic driving routes and save campsites, viewpoints and trailheads. The best part? We could access everything even if we were in areas that had spotty service since we downloaded Maps to use when we were offline. This came in handy when we were trying to find a campground at Bryce Canyon — a total dead zone for our cells — and at Arches where we perfectly timed our day to catch sunset at Delicate Arch (the infamous arch on the state’s license plate). In New Mexico, we used popular times information on Google Maps to avoid the crowds — thanks to this intel it felt like we had White Sands National Park all to ourselves early on a weekday.

Saturday marks the first day of National Parks Week, which I’ve deemed as a welcomed excuse to start planning your next outdoor adventure. (I’ve been eyeing Big Bend National Park). If you’re looking for some travel inspiration, Google Maps dug into data from the past year to help get you started!

Popular times to hit the popular parks 🕒
- The most popular time on the weekend to visit the top five National Parks is Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
- The most popular time on the weekdays is similar to the weekend, between 1 to 3 p.m.
- On weekdays, the most popular time to visit the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone is Tuesday.
All trends point to hiking trails 🥾
- Google Maps searches for “hike” have increased 30% year over year
- Meanwhile, Google Maps searches for “beach” have increased 27% year over year
Top 10 most searched National Parks on Google Maps ⛰️
1. Grand Canyon National Park
2. Yellowstone National Park
3. Yosemite National Park
4. Zion National Park
5. Joshua Tree National Park
6. Big Bend National Park
7. Sequoia National Park
8. Bryce Canyon National Park
9. Glacier National Park
10. Arches National Park
Top 10 most searched national forests on Google Maps 🌲
1. Angeles National Forest
2. Pisgah National Forest
3. San Bernardino National Forest
4. Tonto National Forest
5. Coconino National Forest
6. Sam Houston National Forest
7. Sequoia National Forest
8. Nantahala National Forest
9. Cleveland National Forest
10. Ozark National Forest
Top 10 most searched public beaches on Google Maps 🏖️
1. Will Rogers State Beach
2. Pacifica State Beach
3. Marina Beach
4. Seacliff State Beach
5. Madeira Beach Access
6. San Clemente State Beach
7. Gray Whale Cove State Beach
8. Manatee Public Beach
9. Manasota Key Beach
10. Blind Pass Beach
April 01, 2021
15:00
Maps tips for the adventurer, foodie and go-getter in you
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Whether you’re hunting down the best hole-in-the wall restaurant on your block, planning a cross-country road trip that hits your favorite national parks or in the mood to tackle your to-do list, Google Maps is here to help you play and plan.

Here are Google Maps tips — including features new and old — for the modern foodie, adventurer and go-getter in you.

The modern foodie 🍔
Nothing makes you happier than discovering new flavors or sharing your latest recipes. Here’s how Google Maps can fuel the foodie in you.
- Keep tabs on the restaurant scene: Along with details like operating hours and COVID-19 safety precautions in Google Maps, you can also see every foodie’s favorite info: trending dishes. Check out a restaurant’s Business Profile on Maps to get the scoop on things like a restaurant’s most popular dishes and reviews.
- Make sure your entree arrives piping hot:Have a craving for your favorite ramen dish? Perfectly time your pickup or set the table before your meal arrives with live takeout and delivery status information. See expected wait times for your order, delivery fees, and live status right from Maps.
- Whip up a home-cooked meal — sans grocery checkout lines:Need to grab some last-minute feta for that trending pasta dish? Check out a grocery store’s Business Profile to see things like pickup and delivery availability, fees and order minimums. (This is available for select Albertsons Cos. stores and Instacart partners on mobile Search — but expect to see it on Maps later this year!)
The adventurer 🧗
Do you have the urge to take every fork in the road and leave no trail untraveled? On the road to adventure, Google Maps can help guide the way — no matter where you’re going.
- Be prepared for all conditions:There’s nothing like a surprise rain storm to dampen adventure. Use the new weather and air quality layers to your advantage. See current weather conditions and temperatures, or check the air quality to better plan your fresh-air outings.
- Don’t miss your train or plane with Indoor Live View:Airports and train stations can feel like a maze. Starting this summer in Zurich and Tokyo, use AR cues to see where the nearest platform, gates, elevator and escalators are, as well as baggage claim, restrooms, and ATMs.
- Pedal to your next adventure:Planning a hill climb or beach cruise ride? Check how flat or steep a route will be with biking directions. And if you don’t have a two-wheel companion, you can accessbike-sharing stations in more than 100 cities thanks to integrations with CitiBike, Lyft and Lime integrations.
- Tabs are your new tick list:Use the tabs at the bottom of the app to keep track of your travel bucket list and find your next must-see destination! Check out the Updates tab to see trending, must-see spots from local experts and publishers — so you can find the best things to do no matter where you are.
- Remember where you’ve been: From the new trailhead you found to the hidden campground you want to revisit, we love to use Saved Places to view all these spots in one place. It’s perfect for reminiscing and sharing recommendations with friends.
The go-getter 🤸
You have two speeds: fast and faster. Nothing beats the high of getting it done and getting it done right. Between running your daily errands and crossing things off your to-do list, Google Maps is here to help.
- Dodge the crowds at all costs:Time errands around crowds with transit crowdedness information. (Bonus: it makes it easier to social distance!) Search for a station in Google Maps or tap on the station in the map to see things like departure times and crowdedness predictions.
- Knockout errands when lines are short:Want to avoid that grocery store line? Look at Google Maps’ busyness information to get a sense for how busy a place tends to be and plan accordingly.
- Zip through the mall:Need to drop off a return or pick up a last-minute gift? Hold up your phone and use AR to find a store so you can get in and out in a snap. Indoor Live View is now available at select malls in the U.S.
- Tap and go with contactless payments:Efficiency is every go-getter’s goal. Pay for things like street parking or public transit right from Google Maps, without having to pull out your wallet or touch public services. For street parking, type in your meter number, hit pay and refill while you’re out and about. For public transportation, a pay option will pop up once you arrive at any public transit, then tap your phone to pay.
- Book away: Need to book anappointment, class, or reservation? Search for the business, check upcoming availability and book right from Google Maps. If you need to change something, manage upcoming reservations and bookings within the Saved tab of the Maps app.
15:00
Maps tips for the adventurer, foodie and go-getter in you
» ‎ Google LatLong

Tags: [edit]
Whether you’re hunting down the best hole-in-the wall restaurant on your block, planning a cross-country road trip that hits your favorite national parks or in the mood to tackle your to-do list, Google Maps is here to help you play and plan.

Here are Google Maps tips — including features new and old — for the modern foodie, adventurer and go-getter in you.

The modern foodie 🍔
Nothing makes you happier than discovering new flavors or sharing your latest recipes. Here’s how Google Maps can fuel the foodie in you.
- Keep tabs on the restaurant scene: Along with details like operating hours and COVID-19 safety precautions in Google Maps, you can also see every foodie’s favorite info: trending dishes. Check out a restaurant’s Business Profile on Maps to get the scoop on things like a restaurant’s most popular dishes and reviews.
- Make sure your entree arrives piping hot:Have a craving for your favorite ramen dish? Perfectly time your pickup or set the table before your meal arrives with live takeout and delivery status information. See expected wait times for your order, delivery fees, and live status right from Maps.
- Whip up a home-cooked meal — sans grocery checkout lines:Need to grab some last-minute feta for that trending pasta dish? Check out a grocery store’s Business Profile to see things like pickup and delivery availability, fees and order minimums. (This is available for select Albertsons Cos. stores and Instacart partners on mobile Search — but expect to see it on Maps later this year!)
The adventurer 🧗
Do you have the urge to take every fork in the road and leave no trail untraveled? On the road to adventure, Google Maps can help guide the way — no matter where you’re going.
- Be prepared for all conditions:There’s nothing like a surprise rain storm to dampen adventure. Use the new weather and air quality layers to your advantage. See current weather conditions and temperatures, or check the air quality better plan your fresh-air outings.
- Don’t miss your train or plane with Indoor Live View:Airports and train stations can feel like a maze. Starting this summer in Zurich and Tokyo, use AR cues to see where the nearest platform, gates, elevator and escalators are, as well as baggage claim, restrooms, and ATMs.
- Pedal to your next adventure:Planning a hill climb or beach cruise ride? Check how flat or steep a route will be with biking directions. And if you don’t have a two-wheel companion, you can accessbike-sharing stations in more than 100 cities thanks to integrations with CitiBike, Lyft and Lime integrations.
- Tabs are your new tick list:Use the tabs at the bottom of the app to keep track of your travel bucket list and find your next must-see destination! Check out the Updates tab to see trending, must-see spots from local experts and publishers — so you can find the best things to do no matter where you are.
- Remember where you’ve been: From the new trailhead you found to the hidden campground you want to revisit, we love to use Saved Places to view all these spots in one place. It’s perfect for reminiscing and sharing recommendations with friends.
The go-getter 🤸
You have two speeds: fast and faster. Nothing beats the high of getting it done and getting it done right. Between running your daily earrings and crossing things off your to-do list, Google Maps is here to help.
- Dodge the crowds at all costs:Time errands around crowds with transit crowdedness information. (Bonus: it makes it easier to social distance!) Search for a station in Google Maps or tap on the station in the map to see things like departure times and crowdedness predictions.
- Knockout errands when lines are short:Want to avoid that grocery store line? Look at Google Maps’ busyness information to get a sense for how busy a place tends to be and plan accordingly.
- Zip through the mall:Need to drop off a return or pick up a last-minute gift? Hold up your phone and use AR to find a store so you can get in and out in a snap. Indoor Live View is now available at select malls in the U.S.
- Tap and go with contactless payments:Efficiency is every go-getter’s goal. Pay for things like street parking or public transit right from Google Maps, without having to pull out your wallet or touch public services. For street parking, type in your meter number, hit pay and refill while you’re out and about. For public transportation, a pay option will pop up once you arrive at any public transit, then tap your phone to pay.
- Book away: Need to book anappointment, class, or reservation? Search for the business, check upcoming availability and book right from Google Maps. If you need to change something, manage upcoming reservations and bookings within the Saved tab of the Maps app.