Google Messages may add map options to location sharing

Google Messages may soon let users choose different map views when sharing their location. The options were found in hidden code in the latest beta for Android, according to Android Authority, which said it was able to get the feature working. The code is present but the feature is not enabled.

Currently, location sharing in Google Messages shows a map in the default Google Maps style. The new options would add satellite and terrain views, along with an option to show live traffic on the map.

A satellite view could help someone identify a person’s position relative to a landmark or the surrounding landscape. Terrain view could give users a better sense of how easy it might be to reach someone in a remote area. Live traffic information could help someone picking up a person by car decide whether to ask them to walk and meet elsewhere if roads nearby are congested.

Google Messages has lagged behind apps such as WhatsApp in some location-sharing features. The article’s author says they usually use WhatsApp to share their location because it is widely used and straightforward. WhatsApp also offers time limits for location sharing, which Google Messages does not have. The author says they might switch to Google Messages for location sharing if improvements continue, at least with people using Android.

The location-sharing feature arrived earlier this year, and the article describes these options as upgrades that may be on the way. Google has not announced when they will become available.