Google Maps has brought a feature that tells if an area is busy or not in its newest update. Through this feature, a user can learn which area has less crowd with a few simple clicks. The new feature is designed in such a manner so that within seconds it spots whether a neighborhood has more than usual footfalls or not.
The ‘Area Busyness’ is accessible for both Android as well as iOS users at the moment. Users from any part of the world can start using it after getting the updated version of Google Maps on their phones. People can see tags of busy areas in different locations after opening Google Maps. For more details, the web mapping platform has also provided a label for the same. Clicking on it will show more details on the volume of busyness throughout the day along with pictures for an area.
This latest addition is an advantage especially for those who are planning to visit a location or maybe going to pass through that specific location. It will come in handy while deciding the route. Certainly, it is more beneficial especially in the present times when people are trying to avoid crowded places because of rapidly increasing cases of Omicron variant.
According to the tech giant, the feature works for areas with notable places like restaurants, malls, and so on. They have tried their best in preserving users’ privacy and that’s why the Area Busyness feature does not disclose information about residential areas. As per them, Google Maps will display the total number of people at a location to anyone. The area’s busyness had nothing to do with the location of an individual all thanks to their privacy feature which they call differential privacy. If an area is busy or not is calculated based on the area of interest. Moreover, the company has ensured that it is going to take several protective measures for communities in the future.
Nonetheless, this new update is not a wonder, and instead, it was very much anticipated. The company has been focusing on the busyness function for a long time. During 2020, it even introduced indicators that tell ‘Usually as busy as it gets’ as well as ‘Usually not too busy.’ On top of all this, last month Google Maps announced combining live busyness trends to show the busiest places. It also explained further usage and elements that they have kept in mind in developing this feature.