Google Maps

There Is No Such Thing As An Unbiased Map

Who knew that asking for directions to the Hollywood Sign could be such a complicated question? Well, it is. After writing recently that a group of residents have succeeded in effectively erasing the Hollywood Sign from Google Maps to lead tourists astray, I was floored by the response that came from every corner of the…

Why People Keep Trying to Erase the Hollywood Sign From Google Maps

The Hollywood Sign might be one of the most recognizable things on Earth. In Los Angeles, it’s also one of the most visible. You can see it from a plane as you glide into LAX. You can see it from a car as you drive up the 101 freeway. But a group of people who…

Our Best Look Yet at How Material Design Will Transform Google Apps

Yesterday the overhauled Google Maps app rolled out for iOS and Android, giving us access to new features like the ability to book restaurants inside the app. But it also gives us a peek at how Material Design will transform the whole suite of Google-built products. The release of Lollipop this week was our first…

Google’s Suave New Maps App Lets You Book Lunch Reservations

The latest Google Maps update lets you book a spot at local restaurants through integration with OpenTable. The update uses Google’s new design language, Material Design, so when you open GoogleMaps on Android or iPhone over the next few days, it should look different. When you’re looking at a map, you can tap for more…

Some Crazy Genius Hid a Cat in Google Maps

If you’ve been exploring the fine town of Auckland, New Zealand on Google Maps lately, you might’ve spotted a strange shape just north of the Parnell Cricket Club. It’s a cat. (Or at least, it was cat.) Google’s not exactly sure how it got there. “We were aware that cats were trying to take over…

These Two Guys Want to Turn The Entire Planet Into a Typeface

Last we checked in with Benedikt Groß and Joey Lee, the designer and geographer had just finished counting the number of pools in LA (43,123). Now the duo hope to bring their somewhat-insane methodology to a similarly perplexing challenge: How do we find all the buildings on the planet that look like letters from the…

The Faceless Gods Of Google Street View

Google’s security algorithms are designed to blur out any identifiable faces that show up in Street View. This technology was originally developed to anonymize people, but it’s been known to tag its fair share of billboards, murals, and – wouldn’t you know it – religious effigies. Artist Marion Balac has collected screenshots of face-blurred monuments…

Google and Microsoft Are Mapping Favelas So They Can Sell Things There

The twisting sidewalks and dizzying density of Brazil’s favelas might deter most outsiders from navigating these crowded inner-city neighborhoods, which informally house about 1.5 million of the country’s residents. Yet in the last few months, both Google and Microsoft have both been seen mapping their narrow streets and dirt paths. According to the Wall Street…

This New Parking App Can Find Empty Spaces, No Sensors Required

Parking sucks, and that’s why there are plenty of apps to help your car find a vacant spot. Trouble is, those solutions tend to require expensive sensors to be installed in each and every one of those potentially open spots. A new app called PocketParker instead leverages the power of passive, portable sensors—the ones already…

Making and sharing your own Google Map isgetting easier thanks to the newly rebranded and relaunched “My Maps” tool. There’s also a new Android appso you can make and manage your maps on the go.

Sounds of Street View Lets You Listen to Google Maps

When Google launched its Street View experiment in 2007, it was an ambitious plan. It promised to give us all a more familiar POV of the world rather than Google Maps’ familiar bird’s eye vantage point, and six years later we can travel to thousands of locales, scale Mount Everest or meander down Diagon Alley.…

First Satellite To Capture High-Res Public Images Is Ready for Launch

In mid-June, the U.S. government relaxed its previously strict rules on high-definition satellite imaging, allowing mapping services like Google Maps to scale up to a higher resolution. DigitalGlobe led the charge in changing the U.S. ruling in part because of its upcoming Worldview-3 satellite, which will provide the first public high-resolution photos of our planet.…

Confused Google Street View Driver Ignores Street Signs, Crashes

You’d think a guy driving a car with “Google Maps” written on the door would never get lost. But a Street View driver in Arkansas proved that user error knows no bounds, going the wrong way down a one-way street, busting an illegal U-turn, allegedly blowing a red light, and hitting another car. Hope you…

Here’s How to Explore the Moon and Mars in Google Maps

Everyone’s favorite lil’ rover, Curiosity, has now been rolling around Mars for two years. So it’s high time Google Maps got in on the action—and now, to celebrate the anniversary, it’s launched Maps for Mars and the Moon. Getting pin man into space is pretty easy, if you follow a few steps. It’s simple, as…

Google Maps App Now Gives Suggestions Based on Weather and Time of Day

The Google Maps app has proved invaluable for the intrepid urban explorer in navigating the city. Now a new update for iOS and Android can provide specific contextual details about what’s around you depending on your location, time of day, and even the weather. So if it’s raining (or about to), it will warn against…

Google Maps for Mobile Now Lets Cyclists Avoid the Hills

Good news for cyclists everywhere: Google Maps for mobile now provides you with an elevation chart of its routes, so you can choose to avoid the hills—or take them on. The update plots elevation against distance, allowing you to compare the amount of climbing you’ll have to do. It shows multiple routes in the same…

Google Maps Update Lets You Measure Distances (or Aimlessly Doodle)

Ever try measuring the straight-line distance between two points on Google Maps? You had to hold some object or appendage up to the little scale, then eyeball-measure the distance on your screen. What a mess. No more—a new update puts the task a right-click away. Also, you can doodle with it. This new feature is…

Double-tap to Zoom One-Handed in Google’s Mobile Apps

This tip has been floating around the Web for a while, but not everyone has caught on—if you’re using a Google app such as Chrome or Maps while holding your phone or tablet with one hand, you can double-tap then move your finger up or down to zoom out or in. Keep your finger or…

Awww, the Little Google Maps Guy Is Wearing His Soccer Gear

World Cup madness is sweeping the internet—even the little yellow guy on Google Maps is wearing his soccer gear. And according to commenters, he’s wearing the uniform of whatever nation you view him in. Commenter toschlebelge shows us Google Guy’s German outfit; what’s he wearing in your lands?

Tracking Detroit’s Decay Through Google Street View

Though it’s easy to crack jokes about Detroit’s downfall from afar, it doesn’t change the fact that there are very real people forced to look on as the place they call home slowly descends into decay. One of the most poignant depictions of this has come from none other than Google Maps. Using Google Street…