Google Maps relies pretty heavily on the help of users like us to make sure everything on Google Maps is up-to-date. Maybe a new business has opened up, maybe one has closed down, or maybe there is now a street where a mall used to be. Those are things that Google needs their users for. Users have been able to update and add places to Google Maps for quite some time, however this feature was only available in a select number of countries (around 87 countries). However, it is now available in about 246 countries now. So just about anyone, anywhere in the world will be able to add or edit places in Google Maps now.
The way this works is, when you tap on a place in Google Maps and you open up the information about that place, you will see either “Suggest an Edit” or “Add a Business”. Tapping on either of those will allow you to either edit the place, or add a place to that location on the map. The edits or additions that you make to the map won’t go live as soon as you submit it though. Remember that each change needs to be approved by the Google Maps team. Once it is approved, you will get an email confirmation telling you that it has been approved and is now on the map.
This is part of the Google Maps Local Guides program, which we’ve seen quite a bit of news on recently. For instance, Google is offering rewards for those that frequently submit changes or additions to Google Maps. Additionally, in a recent update to Google Maps, the company added a notification for when your edits go live on Google Maps. So instead of waiting for an email, you can see a notification on your smartphone when they go live. Pretty neat, especially for those that send in lots of edits. While many may not want the ability to add or edit a place on Google Maps, it does help out everyone else. Seeing as Google doesn’t update their maps all that often, and maps can change quite quickly.