Google Maps has marked most of the world, but you can mark anywhere that is not yet.
Since Google Maps first came online in 2005, the little red pin has been its defining symbol, and it’s one you can check out for yourself. Even if where you are isn’t a specific store or address, you can simply drop a pin in the app to save a location. Whether you’re trying to meet up with friends at the park, mark a scenic viewpoint for future visits, or remember where you left your bike, dropping a Google Maps pin can be incredibly useful.
Over its lifetime, Google Maps has debuted many advanced features, from 3D mapping to telling you how busy a business is. Sometimes, however, the simplest feature is the most useful: it tells you how to get from point A to point B. If your point A or B is not officially on the map, it is easy to put it there yourself.
How to drop a pin on Google Maps
To drop a pin on mobile:
Open the Google Maps app.
Find the place you want to pin, then press and hold in place.
If you want, add a label by scrolling through the options next to it directions and hit Add label. This lets you use a user-defined name for the place formation instead of its GPS coordinates, and add it to the Labeled section of the Saved tab.
To save the pin for yourself, tap savings in the same list. Select a list and add a note about the location if necessary.
To share the location with others, scroll through the list and tap Sharethen choose your sharing method.
On a computer, there’s an extra quick step, but it’s still easy to access and share the exact coordinates that come with a pin:
Go to the Google Maps website.
Click on the area you want to share. A gray dot will appear on the map, and you will see the GPS coordinates in a small box at the bottom of the screen.
Click on these GPS coordinates to open the default Google Maps info panel for that location. From there, use the same steps as above savings, Add a label or Share the place.
Alternatively, you can right-click on any location on the map to display a list of options. Click on the GPS coordinates to copy them or click Share this place to make it faster. Directions from here in the Directions here can also be useful if you don’t need to save the pin.
Other useful Google Maps location features
Instead of sharing a pin to direct people to a location, you can also share your own location live for a set time with the following steps:
Open the Google Maps app.
Tap your profile picture in the upper right corner and select Share location.
Select Share location (or Share new ones), then select the amount of time you want to share your location. Alternatively, choose Until you turn this off to do so indefinitely.
Finally, select a contact’s Google Account to share directly to their Maps app, or select More options to send via another method.
For an even more personalized experience, you can also create an entire map using Google’s My Maps feature. With this you can add different layers for different location types (such as parks, restaurants and tourist attractions). It’s great for having an entire vacation tour in one place, or keeping a detailed map of business customers for quick navigation.
Each custom map can have up to 10,000 lines, shapes or spaces, which means that in addition to precise addresses, you can also designate custom areas. These can only be created on desktop, but are visible in the mobile app.