I drive tens of thousands of miles every year, so I naturally try to make my time behind the wheel as smooth as possible, whether I’m driving to work or taking a cross-country road trip. And the one app I’ve found that helps me do that most reliably is Google Maps.
I’ve gotten so used to Google Maps serving as my copilot that I rely on it for just about every trip, whether I’m planning my route ahead of time or dealing with an unexpected traffic jam or road closure.
But there’s a lot more to Google Maps than meets the eye that can make your journey, whether you’re simply driving to work or school, across the state, or across the country, much easier. Here are the five Google Maps tricks I rely on most to make my time behind the wheel as stress-free as possible.
Google Maps trivia
The ultimate navigation challenge
From Street View to live traffic — how well do you really know the world’s
most popular mapping app?
HistoryFeaturesTechnologyMilestonesNavigation
In what year was Google Maps officially launched to the public?
Correct! Google Maps launched in February 2005, initially as a desktop
web application. It was originally developed by a company called Where 2 Technologies, which Google
acquired in 2004 before turning it into one of its most iconic products.
Not quite — Google Maps launched in February 2005. It started life as a
product from a company called Where 2 Technologies, which Google snapped up in 2004 and rapidly
developed into the mapping service we know today.
Which company did Google acquire to help build the foundation of Google Maps?
Correct! Where 2 Technologies, an Australian startup, was acquired by
Google in October 2004. The small team had built a desktop mapping application that impressed Google
enough to buy the company and use it as the backbone of what became Google Maps.
The right answer is Where 2 Technologies, an Australian startup acquired
by Google in October 2004. MapQuest, Navteq, and TeleAtlas were all real mapping companies, but it was
Where 2 Technologies whose core technology directly evolved into Google Maps.
In what year did Google introduce Street View to Google Maps?
Correct! Google Street View launched in May 2007, initially covering
five US cities including San Francisco, New York, and Las Vegas. It used a fleet of specially equipped
cars with panoramic cameras to capture 360-degree ground-level imagery.
Street View actually launched in May 2007, not quite when you guessed.
It rolled out across five US cities at first — San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver —
using specially built camera cars to capture immersive 360-degree street-level imagery.
What programming technique did Google Maps pioneer that made maps feel smooth and
interactive without full page reloads?
Correct! Google Maps was a landmark example of AJAX (Asynchronous
JavaScript and XML) in action, allowing map tiles to load dynamically as users panned and zoomed without
refreshing the whole page. This was groundbreaking in 2005 and helped spark the broader Web 2.0
revolution.
The answer is AJAX — Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. Google Maps was
one of the first major web apps to use this technique at scale, letting users drag and explore maps
fluidly without triggering a full page reload. It became a defining demonstration of what interactive
web applications could do.
Approximately how many Street View images has Google captured as of recent
estimates?
Correct! Google has captured over 220 billion Street View images
covering more than 10 million miles of roads across 100-plus countries. It remains one of the largest
photography projects ever undertaken, using cars, trikes, snowmobiles, and even backpack-mounted
cameras.
The staggering answer is around 220 billion images. Google’s Street View
program has photographed over 10 million miles of roads across more than 100 countries, using everything
from cars and bikes to backpack-mounted camera rigs to reach places vehicles simply can’t go.
Which mapping and traffic app did Google acquire in 2013 to improve real-time
traffic data in Google Maps?
Correct! Google acquired Waze in June 2013 for approximately $1.1
billion. Waze was an Israeli community-driven navigation app that used real-time crowdsourced data from
drivers to report accidents, speed traps, and road hazards — features that have since been deeply
integrated into Google Maps.
The answer is Waze, the Israeli crowdsourced navigation app that Google
bought in June 2013 for around $1.1 billion. Waze’s strength was its community of drivers reporting live
road conditions, accidents, and hazards — and that real-time data has since become a core part of Google
Maps’ navigation experience.
What is the name of Google Maps’ feature that allows users to explore the inside of
buildings such as airports and shopping malls?
Correct! Google introduced Indoor Maps in 2011, allowing users to
navigate the interiors of large public venues like airports, museums, and shopping centers. The feature
displays floor plans and points of interest floor by floor, helping people find gates, restrooms, and
stores with ease.
The feature is called Indoor Maps, which Google rolled out starting in
2011. It lets users view detailed floor plans of large public buildings like airports and malls,
complete with floor-by-floor navigation to help you find your gate, a coffee shop, or the nearest exit.
Which major tech company launched Apple Maps in 2012, directly competing with Google
Maps on mobile devices?
Correct! Apple launched Apple Maps in September 2012 with iOS 6,
controversially replacing Google Maps as the default navigation app on iPhones. The launch was
notoriously rocky — with missing locations, distorted imagery, and routing errors — prompting a rare
public apology from Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The answer is Apple, which launched Apple Maps with iOS 6 in September
2012. The rollout became infamous for errors including melted bridges, misplaced landmarks, and poor
routing, leading to a very public apology from CEO Tim Cook and temporarily boosting appreciation for
Google Maps among iPhone users.
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Google Maps can tell you the best time to leave
Plan your drive around your arrival time
Whenever I’m driving somewhere new, I always like to figure out exactly what time I need to leave to make it there on time, preferably with a little extra time to spare. Google Maps makes this incredibly easy, thanks to a useful tool that lets you tell the app what time you need to arrive at your destination so it can recommend when you should leave. I recently used this on a road trip to Michigan, and it was incredibly helpful in making sure I met up with my friends on time.
To do this yourself, enter your destination in Google Maps and get directions. Then, tap the three dots and select Set depart or arrive time. Select Arrive, enter the date and time you want to arrive, and tap Done. Maps will then estimate what time you should leave, approximately how long the trip will take, what the parking situation is like, and whether there are alternative travel methods that could get you there faster, such as public transit.
Preview traffic ahead of time
Be better prepared for any traffic hurdles
Another trick I’ve come to rely heavily on with Google Maps is using it to preview traffic ahead of time, so I know exactly what I’m getting myself into before I start driving and, if necessary, can plan around it. While my daily commute is practically engraved in my head, traffic can always be unpredictable, and all it takes is one accident or some roadwork to turn everything upside down.
To preview traffic on Google Maps, tap the Layers icon (the stacked squares below where you enter your directions) and, under Map details, select Traffic. This will show you the traffic along your route using different colored lines, with green indicating that traffic is moving smoothly, yellow meaning there’s a small slowdown, and red indicating that traffic is heavily slowed down.
If I see a large amount of red on my commute, that’s usually my cue to turn on the radio and hear the latest traffic report to see what’s going on. Typically, if there’s a major slowdown, Google Maps will also automatically suggest faster alternative routes, which has saved me more times than I can count.
Send directions from your PC to phone
Plan on the big screen, not your phone
A lot of the time when I’m planning a road trip, I use Google Maps on my PC first to preview and plan my route. Simply put, I find using the larger screen on my PC much easier for planning a route, exploring the area I’m going to, and figuring out any pit stops I might want to make along the way. All of this can be a bit more difficult to do on a tiny phone screen.
Fortunately, Google understands that a lot of users like to plan their trips this way, and has made it extremely easy to send a route you’ve created on your PC directly to your phone. That way, you don’t have to waste time recreating it on your phone.
To do this, all you have to do is make sure you’re signed in to the same Google account on both your phone and PC. You should then see an option called “Send directions to phone” above your route. Click it, and a notification will appear on your phone from Google Maps with the directions you planned out on your PC. From there, you can simply start your journey.
Alternatively, you can also copy a link to any route you’ve planned on your PC. This makes it easy to find the route again later or send it to a friend or family member you’re traveling with.
Download maps for offline use
Some added peace of mind
I’ve had this happen more than a few times while driving through rural areas and the countryside, where my phone loses signal entirely because of spotty reception areas, and I can no longer follow the route I was taking. Fortunately, Google Maps has a solution for this, as you can download maps for offline use. That way, if you happen to run into an area with no data service, you can still find your way to where you’re going.
To download a map for offline use ahead of time, all you have to do is search for where you’re going. Then, in the list of options that appears, such as Directions, Start, and Share, select Download offline map. Google Maps will then let you adjust the area of the map you want to download. If you’re happy with your selection, tap Download to save it for offline use. Google will estimate the size of the map before you download it, but just keep in mind that the larger the area you download, the larger the file size will be.
Once you’ve downloaded a map, you’ll be able to get directions in that area even if your phone loses its data connection. If you’re heading somewhere particularly rural, I highly recommend doing this for some added peace of mind. Offline maps have saved me on a number of occasions during cross-country road trips. To view, modify, or delete any maps you’ve saved, you can tap your profile icon in the app, then select Offline maps.
Save your parking spot
Never forget where you’ve parked again
Finally, one of my favorite tricks Google Maps has up its sleeve is the ability to save where you’ve parked. This happens to me most often when I’m sightseeing, and after a very long day of exploring, I can completely forget where I parked, especially if I’m in a massive outdoor parking lot. With Google Maps, though, I can simply open the app on my phone and see exactly where I parked earlier in the day.
To save your parking spot in Google Maps, simply tap the blue location dot after you’ve parked and select Save parking. Maps will then drop a marker showing exactly where you’ve parked. Later, you can search for Parking location or Saved parking in Google Maps, and it’ll navigate you right back to your car.
If you’re an iPhone user, Google Maps can also automatically save where you’ve parked if you’ve connected your phone to your car using Bluetooth. To enable this, go to Settings > Navigation > Parking options in Google Maps, then toggle on Automatically save parking. Once you’ve done that, Google Maps will automatically save your parking spot when it detects that you’ve stopped driving and disconnected your phone from your car’s Bluetooth.
- OS
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iOS, Android
- Brand
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Google
- Price
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Free
