Technology
5 secrets of Google Maps
Google Maps. It’s one of the most used apps in the world and one which many of us use weekly, if not daily. While Google Maps is primarily used for locating specific addresses, there are a whole host of features that the majority of us don’t even know about but that can make life that little bit easier.
Here are 5 of our favourite features hiding below the surface.
- Multi-stop trips – Making a more than one stop on your journey? The new multi-stop feature lets you type in more than one destination so that you can map out your whole trip. Access it by clicking the ‘options’ menu from the direction screen and selecting ‘add stop’.
- The explore option – If you’re visiting a new place and want to get an idea of the facilities on offer then the explore function is your new best friend. From the main search screen, click on the three parallel lines on the left-hand side of the search bar. You should see the ‘explore’ option appear. If it doesn’t, you may need to zoom in a little bit more. Once it does appear, you’ll find details on places to eat, local attractions and other relevant facilities.
- Save and store locations – If you’re going to be out of internet range but know you’ll need a map you can take advantage of Google Maps ability to download and save a section of map for later use. To do this, tap in the search bar and scroll until you see ‘download a new offline area.’ You can download up to 120,000 square kilometres and though the map won’t be able to make suggestions, you can interact with it and search for directions to places within your downloaded section.
- Share directions – If you need to share your location with a friend or show someone how to get to where they’re going, Google Maps makes it possible. All you need to do it find the directions you need, hit the three-dot options menu and tap ‘share directions.’ You can then message or email directions to whoever needs them.
- Sign in for personalised service – While some prefer not to share their information with Google Maps, signing into it can improve functionality. If you sign in and turn on your history, maps will remember your past destinations. You can also link your Google contacts with Google Maps making it easy to find places you may want or need to visit. You can sign in to your Google account by clicking on the three parallel lines on the left-hand side of the search bar.
Do you use Google Maps? What’s your favourite feature?
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