Google Maps is one of the best navigation apps out there, and let’s all admit that it’s pretty hard nowadays to start our car without having the famous app onboard and working. While everybody knows about some of the basic Google Maps functions, such as checking for restaurants and gyms or getting directions, the famous navigation app has some pretty interesting features that the majority of people out there don’t know about.
Google did an excellent job by releasing Google Maps to the world, as you can rapidly see indications and places no matter where you are on the planet. Surely, the app isn’t perfect, however, as the devs need to update it frequently, but even so, it’s great software!
Without further ado, let’s cut to the chase:
Incognito mode
Did you know that it’s possible for your Google Account to not “remember” the places you’ve been after searching them on Google Maps? That’s because the Incognito Mode is there to save the day for you in case you’re more like the shy type of person. All you have to do to enable the Incognito Mode of Google Maps is to head over to the profile icon from the top right corner of the app, and the option will be there waiting for you.
Street view for indoor spaces:
If you wish to see what’s cooking inside specific locations, you must know that some of them offer the chance for street view for indoor spaces. This means that by simply zooming in on specific locations while using Street View, you can explore shopping malls, airports, and museums. Doesn’t that sound exciting?
Time travel with Street View
If you’ve always wanted to travel back in time, such as in all those exciting sci-fi movies, guess what? No, Google Maps can’t do that for you, but it still has a nice function that allows you to see how a specific location has changed over time. While available only for the desktop version of the app, the Time Travel with Street View function can be used by tweaking the time slider that appears in Street View.
Offline maps
While everybody can get internet connectivity these days, it can still be difficult if you travel to remote areas where there’s no signal. The Offline Maps feature in Google Maps can lend you a helping hand in that kind of situation, as you can use it to download maps in order to use them without internet connectivity. To do so, you need to simply search for a location, select the place name or address, and then hit the “Download” option.
Explore nearby places
If you’re the type of person who barely leaves the house, as the comfort of video games, music, and movies is too good, guess how else Google Maps can help you out? No, it won’t forcefully drag you out of the house, but it can still allow you to explore nearby places. In other words, you will rapidly discover the most interesting venues and events near your location, such as gyms, restaurants, bars, karaoke parties, concerts, and so on. All you have to do is type on the ‘Explore’ tab and be sure that you’ve allowed the app to know your exact location. Don’t worry, no aliens will try to abduct you, or at least that’s what we hope!
Save parking location
From time to time, anybody can have trouble remembering where they’ve parked their car, especially if they’re in a new city. That’s where the ‘set as parking location’ feature in Google Maps comes in handy. After you park your car, you need to tap on the blue dot and choose the ‘set as parking location’ option. In this way, you’ll easily see where exactly on the map you’ve parked your car.
Translate Local Reviews
Let’s suppose you’re traveling to Paris, and you need to check the local reviews for a specific restaurant. They’ll obviously be in French, and you don’t understand that language. But guess what? Google Maps does, and the app will even translate those reviews for you in your own language! Once you tap on a review, a translation option will appear.
Measure distance
Google Maps always allows you to measure the distances between two points, whether you need to find out the distances between two cities, the diameter of your town, the distance from your home to your workplace, and so on. This is a great feature that you can use as much as you like. All you have to do to activate it is press and hold on the starting point, then select the “Measure distance” option, and continue adding points to find out the total distance that interests you.
Share your real-time location
Let’s say you’re not afraid of the New World Order, who might spy on you as you reveal your real-time location on the internet. In that case, you can simply share the location of yourself with friends, relatives, or even enemies if you want to organize a meeting to settle your accounts at a manly game of chess. You can do so by tapping on the blue dot that represents your location and choosing the “Share your location” option.
How about you? Feel free to tell us about your own favorite Google Maps features that you couldn’t live without! The comment section is available!
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
