SMARTPHONE SPECIAL.... Maps on your phone can do more than you possibly know

Maps on your phone can do more than you possibly know

Here is a list of navigation tricks that you can show off to your friends or make your life simpler on the road

For most commuters, Google Maps has been a god-send as it has made navigation simple. But the tech giant has put in features that are not available in competing navigation services. Some of these features are still not known to a lot of users.

Save your parking location

If you have the habit of forgetting your parking location, you can manually pin it using Google Maps. Maps can also detect your parking location and save it for you, depending upon location settings.

Get direction for multiple locations

Suppose you want to drop your kid to school on the way to your office, then you can add multiple stops in your journey and get the directions and ETA at once. To use this feature, set up your direction from point A to point B. You can add as many stops as you want to add in between your journey.

Make your own Google Map

This feature is useful when you want to share the plan of your trip with your friends and family, or you want to guide your kids or parents. You can create custom maps with all the necessary information, such as point of interests, directions, routes and more using the ‘My Maps’.

Use voice commands while driving

There are many actions you can perform using the various voice commands built right inside Google Maps. Tap on the microphone icon at the top right to say your command. For example, say ‘Mute to turn off the voice or say ‘show my ETA’ to know your arrival time.

Label your favourite places

There are places which we want to remember. It can be anything such as a restaurant you visited, a shop or directions to a friend’s place. In situations like this, you can make custom labels and assign them to that particular location on Google Maps.

Set your default addresses

Adding home and office locations has a dual benefit. It helps in quickly beginning navigation. Also, while you are at work, you will be given alerts of traffic conditions on the routes back home.

Train and bus schedules

Google Maps in India includes timings for trains and bus services operating in your city. When searching for routes to your destination, you can filter the results to include different modes of public transport.

Places and businesses near your location

If you are stuck in the middle of a highway, with your car running on low fuel, Google Maps can help you search for shops or petrol pumps. Just like the normal Google search engine, your keywords will lead you to the right results.

Track your own movements

Been to a place, but you can’t remember the name or the location? Don’t worry, as Google Maps has a history of your movements every single day. Head over to Maps and check out the Timeline option. You can update or delete data that Maps may have captured wrong.

— TOI Tech