Google India has announced a new India-first feature, which will let users get access to the exact locations of their homes with the help of Plus Codes. Plus Codes, which were introduced back in 2018 for Google Maps, was previously used by NGOs and various other government work. Here’s a look at how this works.
Google Maps Gets Plus Codes Home Adresses
For those who don’t know, Plus Codes are open-sourced and free digital addresses (a combination of 6 or 7 letters and numbers) for people to find accurate addresses of any place on earth, even the locations that don’t have any defined address. Plus Codes are based on longitudes and latitudes for providing these accurate addresses.
As mentioned earlier, these were previously used by businesses and NGOs. It was also introduced as a pilot last month and has already been used by over 300,000 people. Now, all users can get a Plus Code to save and share their accurate home addresses. This can be shared with people whether for food delivery or with friends to reach your home with much ease. This will dismiss the need for sharing a nearby location or explaining directions altogether.
How does this work? Whenever you save an address as a home address, Google Maps will show a new “Use your current location” option, clicking on which will help the app generate a Plus Code based on the device’s location. Google notes that it will happen if “the location precision meets minimum thresholds.“
Google Maps will also have an option above the “Saved Tab” section for you to get access to these addresses and easily share and save them. Google is aiming to extend Plus Codes for more places other than just work or home addresses. It is also looking to provide Plus Codes access to delivery, logistics, and e-commerce platforms for people to get access to these services with ease.
Plus Codes for home addresses on Google Maps are presently available for Android users and are expected to reach iOS devices soon.
