New tools make it easier to suggest edits & corrections in Google Maps for Android, iOS

To ensure its accuracy, a million updates from around the world are made to Google Maps on a daily basis. However, that is still not enough to guarantee that every single restaurant, business, or landmark has accurate information. To remedy this, Google Maps is adding new tools to keep the local places you know best up-to-date.

It is now easier to edit existing business information and add missing places on Google Maps for Android, iOS, and in Google Search. Knowledge Graph cards in search results and location cards in Maps now include a ‘Suggest an edit’ option under the regular business information. Dropping a pin in Maps now also shows the option to ‘Add a missing place’.

In addition to factual information, Google Maps is also building up a repository of other characteristics to build “a deeper understanding of places” to help users find relevant locales. On mobile, users will now be able to add if a place has a romantic vibe, serves vegetarian food, offers outdoor seating, and more.

As these characteristics are more subjective in nature, Google is also using crowd sourcing to quicken the amount of time it takes for edits to appear on Maps. Users will be notified if a place has pending suggestions and given the ability to verify it. After enough votes to confirm its accuracy, suggestions will be published. This latter feature is only available through Android Maps app and Google search on both mobile platforms.