It's hard enough to keep track of changes in your neighborhood on a good day, let alone during a global pandemic. Google Maps' new community feed, however, makes it easy to find updates and recommendations from trusted local sources.
Housed in the Explore tab, the feed highlights reviews, photos, and posts added by experts and people you follow, as well as food and drink merchants, and articles from publishers like restaurant recommendation site The Infatuation.
"If there's anyone that can keep you in-the-know, it's the Google Maps community," product manager Capella Yee wrote in a blog announcement. "Every day, people submit more than 20 million contributions—including recommendations for their favorite spots, updates to business services, fresh reviews and ratings, photos, answers to other people's questions, updated addresses, and more."
There is some effort required: It helps to fill out food and drink preferences like dietary needs and places of interest (via Settings) and even follow some of your favorite venues to receive more personalized insights.
"The community feed brings together helpful local information and tailors it to your selected interests," according to Yee. "For example, if you've marked an interest in healthy food or Greek cuisine in your Google maps food and drink preferences, you'll see more recommendations, photos, and business posts for that type of dining."
Visit the community feed as often as you'd like to see what's happening locally. Find out whether your favorite Mexican restaurant added a new dish to the menu, look for a nearby hike or popular day trip, check on what COVID-19 safety precautions businesses are taking. Users can also pan and zoom through the map for details on almost any location across the world.
"What makes Google Maps such a great tool to navigate and explore is the community of people, from our passionate Local Guides to nearby business owners," Yee said. "Those community recommendations are front and center with the community feed, now rolling out globally for everyone on Android and iOS."