How Google Maps Helps You Find Your Parked Car Easily

It has become a situation that every individual has experienced at least once trying to locate your car after parking at a busy mall, airport, or street that you are not familiar with. Google has begun implementing a new feature on Google Maps that makes this situation much easier by automatically detecting the location of where you parked your car.

How Google Maps Automatically Saves Your Parking Spot

The idea that powers this feature is very simple yet very helpful and handy. The thing is that when you are driving to some location with Google Maps running on your phone, which is in turn connected to your car, Google Maps is able to sense when you have reached your destination and have stopped driving your car. As soon as Google Maps realizes that you have got out of driving mode, it marks the region on the map where your car is now parked with a pin.

The best part about this feature is that you do not have to do anything yourself. You do not have to press any buttons or forget to mark your location as saved. The parking pin will remain visible for a period of up to 48 hours or until you begin driving your vehicle. Once you begin driving your vehicle, your saved parking spot will automatically be hidden.

When you have personalized the car icon on Google Maps, you will notice the same icon represented at the parking spot. In the absence of personalization, you should find a bright blue ‘P’ marker with ‘You parked here’ marked on it, which is pretty simple to spot.

Requirements for the Feature to Work Properly

Currently, this automatic parking detection feature is rolling out for iPhone users. To ensure it works smoothly, your phone must be connected to your car using at least one of the following methods:

• Bluetooth connection

• USB cable

• Apple CarPlay

Also, Google Maps requires permission to 'access my location even when app is not in use'. This permits the App to realize when your driving session ends. In most cases, the feature is enabled out of the box and you can check it manually by entering Google Maps settings and making sure Save Parking Location is turned on.

How to Find Your Parked Car Later Using Google Maps

Once your parking location is saved, finding your car again is quick and simple. Just follow these steps:

• Open Google Maps on your phone

• Look for the “You parked here” pin on the map

• Or tap the search bar and select Saved parking

From there, Google Maps can even provide walking directions back to your car. This is especially useful in large parking lots, busy city areas, or when you’re visiting a place for the first time.

Can You Edit the Saved Parking Location?

Yes, Google Maps will also give you control if the pin does not end up in the right position. Maybe the position looks a bit off, so you can tap on the marked position for the parking location that you saved, then select Change location. After that, you can move the position to the exact spot where you parked the car.

Is This Feature Coming to Android?

Currently, Google has not made any official announcements regarding whether or when the automatic parking detection will be available for Android or Android Auto. Google Maps allows users to manually mark their parking location, although the automatic functionality is currently exclusive to iOS.

Nevertheless, considering the trend that Google has shown concerning the expansion of popular capabilities to platforms, there could be a good chance that Android support could come soon.

This tiny but considerate update shows just how Google Maps is looking out for more real-world problems. The auto-save of your parking location reduces frustration, saves time, and makes navigation way wiser, particularly in busy urban environments. For both everyday commuters and frequent travelers, this feature could well be labeled 'can't do without'.

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