Google's Nearby for Android Shows Apps, Websites Relevant to Your Location

Google has introduced a new feature called Nearby to suggests apps and websites to users based on their location. These apps and services provide more information about that location.

This feature will roll out as part of the upcoming Google Play Services release, and will work for Android 4.4 KitKat users and above, Google said in a blog post. In order for this feature to work, the user will have to turn on Bluetooth and location on their phone. Nearby will then do its thing, and recommend apps and websites.

For example, if an Android user is at Disney World, the Nearby feature will show the relevant app/website as a notification. If the user wishes to download the app, or view the website, tapping on the notification will directly lead him to the app in Google Play, or the site on Chrome. Alternatively, the user can also chose to just avoid and swipe the notification away to clear up the screen.

Websites will have to get support for Google Beacons for their sites to surface depending on the users location - more details for webmasters can be found on the developer blog post. Support for beacons came to Chrome with version 49.

This could be a useful feature for all those who would like additional information about a place they are visiting. Users are not necessarily always informed about these apps and services provided by certain businesses, and Nearby looks to fill that gap. Also Google Play houses millions of apps, and this feature will help relevant apps get noticed, inadvertently helping developers. Earlier this year, Google had done a similar experiment in Chrome, where it showed relevant websites depending on the user's location.