How to Use Google Maps as a Social Network

These profiles open up another feature in Google Maps: follow and be followed. The idea is that you want to follow local experts whose opinions you value about the places you visit, as well as friends and family. To follow someone in the Google Maps app for Android or iOS, tap their name on a review or rating, then choose To follow

Use the shortcut mentioned above in the Google Maps app to see your own followers: Contribute, thereafter View your profilePress Followers link (with a number next to it, even if it’s zero) to see who’s following you. You can also see the people you follow (and unfollow people if necessary).

To manually approve each new follower you receive, tap Edit profile, thereafter Profile and privacy settings of your profile and enable the Limited profile toggle switch. If your profile is limited, only your followers can see your reviews and ratings on Google Maps, as well as the list of who you follow.

Use the news feed

If you tap Updates thereafter For you in the Google Maps mobile app, you’ll see a news feed of sorts: it pulls in updates from the people and businesses you follow, and adds updates on places near which Google’s algorithms think you might be interested (changes to the menu of the local restaurant, for example).

Tap the three dots in the top right corner of anything in this feed to find options for editing some of the ways the feed works. You can specify areas you are and are not interested in, and indicate which updates match your taste. and which ones not, and more.

If you tap to view it Explore tab and open the information tab below it, you will see a similar list of updates based on the area you are currently in. We’ve noticed some overlap between the two screens in terms of the photos and updates that were shown, but if you’re in a new or unusual place that you don’t visit often, the Explore tab will likely become more useful.

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