A couple of years ago, someone thought it would be funny to create edit a portion of Google Maps to show the Android mascot taking a leak on the Apple logo. Obviously this was not done by Google, but rather internet users who had free reign to edit Google Maps. The idea is that by crowdsourcing the information, it would allow Google to chart the world much quicker.Google has obviously taken steps since to ensure that this won’t happen again, and a recent change to Google Maps has only strengthened it. Google has recently announced that they will be introducing crowd verification to user-made Google Map edits. What this means is that instead of Google having to verify every single user-made edit, they will let groups of users do it for them.
According to Google, “We’ve also introduced a new way for users to help approve edits suggested by others, ultimately reducing the amount of time it takes for edits to appear on the map. For places that have pending suggestions, you’ll see a notification stating that ‘Someone suggested new info.’ If you click or tap that notification, you’ll have the option to verify whether the suggestion is accurate.”
Google notes that this feature will be available via the Google Maps app itself on Android, but for iOS users they’ll be able to access it on mobile Google Search.
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