Google Maps Will Now Show You Real-Time Data About How Crowded Places Are

Google Maps over the years has gained several users specific features including real-time transit information in select cities and as well as the ability to warn users if they were navigating to a place that would already be closed by the estimated time of arrival. Now, the app has upgraded its Popular Times feature with real-time data to show you how popular a place is 'right now'.

The company says that the new feature will be available to users "in time for the Black Friday swarms" and can be accessed via Google Search and Maps. "All these tips are just a tap away in Google Search and Maps," said Jamie Aspinall, Product Manager, in announcement blog post. After checking the respective apps, we can confirm that the feature isn't currently available in the latest Search and Google Maps app versions in India. We can expect the feature to gradually rollout to Google Maps and Search users worldwide. As seen in the image above, the regular Popular Times graph will feature a Live tag.

The new Google Maps can come really handy for those users planning their shopping spree during the extremely hectic Black Friday day sale. Apart from real-time data, Google Maps will now be able to show "how long people typically stay at a given location" which can help planning itinerary to the minute.

Another new feature is detailed service hours which will now show up in Google Maps and which is part of the new update. Google Maps will be able to offer a detailed business hours of different sections at a store, business place, or a restaurant. With the update, Google Maps will be able to offer specific visiting timing of a gallery for example if you are at a place nearby.