NEW DELHI:
Google Maps introduced on Wednesday yet-another India-first “Stay Safer” feature for its users. The feature will alert and notify users traveling in taxis, auto-rickshaws when their vehicle goes off-route and also share the live status of their trips with friends/family. Indian users will be able to use the new feature on their Android phones with the latest version of Google Maps.
Announcing the feature, Amanda Bishop, Product Manager, Google Maps said, “Through our extensive research across India, we found that a lot of people limit their mobility due to safety-related concerns. To address this, we are launching another India-first feature that will deliver a more relevant and reliable experience to our users. Our new ‘Stay Safer’ feature on Google Maps will alert users who are traveling in taxis, auto-rickshaws etc. in case their vehicle goes off route, giving them peace of mind.”
How do users enable this feature? After searching for your destination and getting directions, users can enable this experience by selecting the “Stay Safer” and “Get off-route alerts” option. If the driver deviates more than 0.5km from the Google Maps suggested route, the phone will buzz with a prominent notification, and users can tap it to see where they are compared to the original route. Then, users can also choose to share the live trip with friends and family directly from that screen so they know and can keep track of the journey.
