Google Maps

Navigation for everyday travel

Google Maps is a map, route-planning and local search app for people getting around by car, on foot, by bicycle or on public transport. It suits commuters, travelers and anyone trying to find a business, landmark or service in an unfamiliar area. Search for a destination, compare available routes and follow turn-by-turn guidance while traffic or transit conditions change.

Maps, places and route details

The app combines street maps with information about businesses and public locations. Place listings can include hours, contact details, photos, reviews and useful details such as popular times. Street View lets you check a destination and its surroundings before you arrive, which can help with unfamiliar entrances or streets. Transit coverage and route options vary by location.

• Driving: Receive directions with traffic-aware route changes where live data is available.
• Walking and cycling: Plan routes that are not limited to car roads.
• Public transport: Review bus, train and other transit connections in supported areas.
• Offline use: Save selected map areas for navigation when a reliable data connection is not available.

Scale and user response

Google Maps is published by Google LLC in the Travel & Local category. Its listing shows more than 10,000,000,000 installs and over 19 million ratings, giving it an unusually large user base. The displayed rating is 3.17 out of 5. That combination points to an app used at enormous scale, while also showing that the experience does not satisfy every user equally across devices, regions and use cases.

What to keep in mind

Google Maps is most useful when you need one app for directions, place discovery and location context. Its usefulness depends on the quality of local map, traffic and transit data, and some functions work differently from one area to another. Continuous location use and detailed navigation can also place extra demand on a phone’s battery.