- Google Maps has changed
the way we navigate the world,
and it's worth knowing how to get around Maps itself,
if you want to unlock its full potential.
Google continues to revamp and improve Maps
with features like augmented reality, and commuter options.
But there are a ton of customizable tools
and hidden functions already baked into Google Maps
that you may not know about.
Here are five fun ones you should have in your back pocket.
One, customize your vehicle icon.
This one's truly just for fun.
If you're driving, Google lets you choose
what car shows up on your navigation
in the iOS and Android apps.
In the app, plug in your destination
and start up driving directions.
Tap the icon that shows your current location,
and a pop up menu will appear
with several car icon options.
A sedan, a pickup truck, or an SUV.
This one's purely for fun,
but it's just a nice one to have in your arsenal
if you're driving other people.
Two, get AR walking directions.
If you're walking around a city
and need a visual aid,
Google Maps supports augmented reality walking directions
in certain locales.
Essentially, it layers directional prompts
atop street view imagery,
to help you know which way to walk or turn.
The feature initially rolled out in 2019 for Pixel phones,
and later expanded to other Android phones
with AR core support,
and iPhones with AR kit support.
The area itself needs to have robust street view support.
If it's available, you'll see a live view option
at the bottom of your screen
when you search for walking directions.
If you don't have AR yet,
find the blue dot on Google Maps
and tilt your phone in the direction you're about to walk.
That blue location dot
will cast what looks like a shadow
in the direction you're facing
to help you get oriented.
Three, learn about the parking situation.
We all know Google Maps can provide
turn by turn directions
based on live-ish traffic data,
but it's less known that it can provide you
with a glimpse of the parking situation.
When you search for driving directions
to a location on an iOS or Android,
you may see a P logo at the bottom of the screen,
along with one of three designations,
limited, medium, and easy.
This can help you decide how long to allocate for parking,
or even if another form of transportation
may be a better option.
Four, navigate with voice commands.
If you want to interact with maps while you're driving,
you don't actually want to take your eyes off the road.
With Okay Google voice commands
in the Google Maps Android app, you don't have to.
For example, if you notice you're running low on gas,
just say "Okay Google, find gas stations,"
and it will show gas stations on the map
which you can look at when you come to a red light
or have pulled over.
You can also ask for things like,
"What's my next turn?"
"What's my ETA?"
Or: "How's traffic ahead?"
On iOS, you have to tap the microphone icon at the top right
at which point you can ask your question via voice.
Five, auto delete your Google Maps location history.
If you're worried about all the data Google will have on you
from all this coming and going,
there's a way to mitigate all that.
Google lets you periodically auto delete
your location history from the company servers.
You can set the data to erase every three months,
every 18 months, or keep the data
until you delete it manually.
Just navigate to myactivity.google.com
and click location history, then auto delete,
where you can choose how often to delete your data,
including where you've been on Google Maps.
To delete everything it has captured until now,
navigate to settings, then personal content,
then delete all location history.
Google Maps is great, but privacy is privacy.