Google Maps

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Google Maps is a Google's web application for viewing maps, getting directions, and keeps track of your location history (opt out). They can also be embedded on other websites to display interactive maps.

How to

View your location history

View your personal location history as logged by Google Maps:

https://maps.google.com/locationhistory/b/0

Turn off or delete your location history

Manage and delete your Location History

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3118687

Features

location search (business name, address, or latitude longitude) and map display
charts
Temporary features

Charts

Google Maps provides a variety of options for making map charts.

One of the most common is Geocoded Locations, e.g.:

Temporary Features

Temporary features, e.g.:

one day banner, e.g. "Today is Election Day"
"Show Polling Place"

Today is Election Day

On US Election day 2016 (November 8th), Google Maps showed a banner just below the main top left "Search Google Maps" input box, calling out that "Today is Election Day", and prompting the user to "FIND YOUR VOTING LOCATION" (linked to same place that below "SHOW ME" button did).

Show Polling Place

Two days before the US Election day in 2016 (November 8th), Google Maps started showing a special toolbar at the top stating:

Election Day is around the corner
Make sure you know your polling place

With a big blue button to "SHOW ME".

The "SHOW ME" button links to:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Where+do+I+vote+in+the+2016+United+States+election+%23Everyonein2016&authuser=0#eob=va/4/16/

Which is a Google Search results page with a "Where to vote" onebox form at the top (this might be more appropriate on that page)

When you enter your street address and submit the form, the onebox expands and shows you a map to your polling place along with additional information and links.

E.g. if you happened to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC:

Criticism

Share links use soon-to-die domain

Share feature generates goo(.)gl links like https://maps.app.goo.gl/7B5SjtoxUMavkpnz7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy which will presumably all break once [[1]] shuts down on 2025-08-25

Misdirection in some places

https://mastodon.social/@MikeElgan/111950192497229707
- "Following Google Maps directions in rural Tasmania and encountered this sign." @MikeElgan February 18, 2024

2018 iOS app fails to handle website links

Native iOS app (as of 2018) fails to handle link from website: https://web.archive.org/web/20180918213244/https://twitter.com/mattly/status/1042134377768017920 (original tweet nhttps://twitter.com/mattly/status/1042134377768017920 deleted)

"> Can you send me the address
< [GoogleMaps Link]
/me taps link in iMessage, it opens the Google Maps app
“Google Maps can’t open this URL”

Thanks, 2018." @mattly 2018-09-18

(file under URLs are not the problem, Google sucks at URLs, both generating and handling)