Google Maps is testing directions based on the nearest fast-food spot
You can call it a human touch or you can call it confusing — either way, Google Maps has started using businesses as reference points for directions.
Drivers using the app have started noticing that instead of being given a street name to turn onto or a direction to head in, they're being instructed to look for a business or building.
As Grubstreet and CNET posted earlier this week, it's happening mostly with restaurant locations.
In the past month, many people have posted about experiencing this new feature, which often comes off as an advertisement due to the number of fast-food businesses mentioned.
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Google wouldn't confirm the new map feature, but, most likely, the company is experimenting with improving navigation. It's probably testing landmarks as guides for its directions instead of using more formal navigational descriptions.
Guess McDonald's is as much of a landmark as anything these days.
Topics Google
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
