Google Maps Spotted Testing a Safety Feature in India That Alerts You If Your Taxi Goes Off Route

The new feature can alert you if your taxi goes off its route.

By Harpreet Singh | Updated: 11 June 2019 13:45 IST

Google Maps Spotted Testing a Safety Feature in India That Alerts You If Your Taxi Goes Off Route

Photo Credit: XDA-Developers

Google Maps will soon be able to secure your taxi rides with a new feature

Highlights

Google Maps is testing a new safety feature in India
The feature will alert users when their car or taxi is going off route
Google Maps has recently added a number of new, useful features

Google has been adding a number of small, yet highly useful features in Google Maps recently. The search giant added SOS alerts, an on-screen speedometer, and three major new features for commuters in India including live train status. It's clear that Google Maps wants to become more than just an app that offers navigation services. Google has been spotted testing new feature in India that aims to ensure your safety while you're riding a taxi. Separately, the company has announced fresh traffic information is being implemented in 66 countries across the world.

The new feature quickly alerts you if your taxi goes off its usual route. Google Maps will serve an alert if your taxi is driven away from the intended route by 500 meters. The feature will also work when you're driving on your own, to ensure you don't go off route.

Google Maps' new feature is currently said to be available only in India only and was first spotted by the folks at XDA-Developers. The new feature can also be useful to ensure your taxi driver doesn't drive you around just to increase your overall fare.

To use the feature, set up navigation as you'd normally do on Google Maps by selecting your destination. Tap on the 'Stay safer' button at the bottom of the screen. You'll be presented with two options under the Stay Safer feature. These include sharing a live trip with your friends or getting off-route alerts.

Now Google Maps will track your current trip. While you're navigating, Google Maps will present a small banner at the top that says you'll receive an alert if your ride diverts by 500 meters. It's a useful feature especially if you're travelling around a new place.

Additionally, Google Maps is also getting fresh high-quality traffic information in several countries. 66 countries have received an updated traffic layer data which was previously set at 'not available in the area, or with low data quality or availability'. Dozens of countries, including India, have their speed limit data downgraded to 'not available in the area, or with low data quality or availability'.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Google Maps, Google

Harpreet Singh

Email Harpreet

Harpreet is the community manager at Gadgets 360. He loves all things tech, and can be found hunting for good deals when he is not shopping online. He has written about deals and e-commerce in India for many years, as well as covering social media and breaking technology news. More