Google Account History

Google's Account Settings page has a new section called "Account History". The section shows some links that let you manage Google search history, Google location history, YouTube search history and watch history (the videos you've watched).

Google also includes "pause" buttons for all the 4 data streams. When you click "pause", Google shows black-and-white pictures and tells you what you'll be missing.

"Pausing Google Search History may limit or disable features such as Google Now, more accurate search results and predictions, and saved searches on mobile devices. Pausing Google Location History will limit the functionality of some Google products over time, such as Google Maps and Google Now. Pausing YouTube Search History does not delete existing history. To view your history, remove individual items, or clear your entire history, go to your YouTube Search History page."

Here's what happens when you pause Google search history, Google location history, YouTube search history and watch history: the colorful images are converted to black and white.

YouTube's watch history is really useful because it shows all the videos you've watched from any device, as long as you are logged in. Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't provide a search feature, so you have scroll until you find the right video. YouTube's watch history is the most important source for YouTube's recommendations, so you should delete some of the videos if you see unpleasant recommendations. Google also uses video history to improve ads, but you can opt out of interest-based Google ads.

YouTube's search history is used to show search suggestions and to improve recommendations. The first two suggestions from the screenshot below are from my search history:

Google search history is used to show search suggestions, to restrict results to pages you've visited, to personalize search results, to improve ads and to provide data for some Google Now cards. There's an important distinction between YouTube search history and Google search history: YouTube only saves your queries and the watch history is saved separately, while Google search history includes both your queries and the search results you've clicked on.

Location History started as a Google Latitude feature, but it's still available, even if Google Latitude was discontinued. To understand Location History, you need to know what Location Reporting is.

"Location Reporting allows Google to periodically store and use your device's most recent location data in connection with your Google Account. Location History allows Google to store a history of your location data from all devices where you are logged into your Google Account and have enabled Location Reporting."

Both features are related to mobile devices and they're used by Android/iOS apps like Google Maps, Google Search and Google+. Location History requires Location Reporting, but you can use Location Reporting while disabling Location History. Google uses your data to improve Google Maps search results based on the places that you've been, to show some Google Now cards and to show your data on a map. Here are some ways to disable Location History and Location Reporting from an Android device.

{ Thanks, Herin Maru. }

Easter Eggs for Google Maps UK Directions

Google Maps has a few funny Easter Eggs for UK directions:

* a dragon can get you from Snowdon to Brecon Beacons in only 21 minutes

* the Loch Ness Monster can get you from Fort Augustus to Urquhart Castle

* you can use the Royal Carriage between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle

* "If you've ever ventured to Oxford or Cambridge, you'll know that punting – steering a flat-bottomed boat on a narrow or shallow river – is a defining characteristic of both cities. If you want travel between Magdalene College and Mathematical Bridge (Cambridge) or Magdalen College and Wolfson College (Oxford) by water, Google Maps has got you covered," found The Next Web.

{ via The Next Web }

Knowledge Graph Card in Google Maps

Google Maps for desktop added a "quick facts" card that uses information from the Knowledge Graph. If you search for a country, a state, a city, a district, a museum or any other important building, you'll find some information from Wikipedia.

Google Maps cards include a lot of useful information, depending on the context: events, transit information, hotel booking.

{ via +Google Maps }

Public Transit Directions in Google Search

Google Search not only shows driving directions, it also shows a card for public transit directions. This feature seems to be limited to trains and buses. Another limitation is that this feature only works if you are in the US.

"Find the best route to travel using public transportation without ever leaving the Google Search page. For example, if you're in New York and traveling from Fulton Street to Times Square, you can search [from columbus circle to times square by train] to find information about the next train that's leaving. You can also search for directions between cities, like [seattle to portland by train]," informs Google.

Click the Settings button to specify the date and time for your departure or arrival.

You can also append to your query "arriving by 5 pm" or "departing at 6 pm".

Google Maps for Android Adds Feeling Lucky Button

The latest version of Google Maps for Android adds an "I'm Feeling Lucky" button that automatically picks the destination when searching for directions. This only works when "my location" is selected as the starting point and Google has enough information to offer relevant recommendations.

The "I'm Feeling Lucky" option works especially well when it's obvious where you are going, for example when you're heading home from work. Google uses information from Gmail, Google Calendar, Google+, Google Search history, Google Maps history, Google Trends, Google Drive, Chrome and even Google Reader. The power of Google Reader's data is yet to be fully unlocked, but there's a lot of potential.

Update: This is a joke for April Fools' Day 2014.

The New Google Maps Replaces the Classic Interface

Last year, Google released a completely new Google Maps interface for desktop, but made it opt-in. Since then, the Google Maps team fixed bugs, improved performance and added some of the missing features (Pegman, My Location, short URLs, multi-point directions). The next step is obvious: the new Google Maps will become the default version.

"Over the coming weeks, the new Google Maps will make its way onto desktops around the world. Many of you have been previewing it since its debut last May, and thanks to your helpful feedback we're ready to make the new Maps even more widely available," informs Google.

The new Google Maps promised to bring an immersive experience, a personalized map that shows what's relevant and helps you make smarter decisions using recommendations from your Google+ circles. It's a simplified interface that's closer to the mobile UI. Google removed some of the features from the classic interface and focused on the basics: a map you're encouraged to explore, unified directions that show the best options, instant search, permalinks, panoramic images, Google Earth and Street View without plugins.

Classic Google Maps is still available: you can switch by clicking the "?" icon at the bottom of the page and selecting "Return to classic Google Maps". You'll see this message: "You have switched back to classic Google Maps for this session. Remember this choice for next time?". Click "Yes" to always go to the old interface when visiting Google Maps.

My Location in the New Google Maps

The new Google Maps for desktop brings back the "show my location" feature. Just click the button next to zoom in/out and Google Maps will show your location. You'll probably see a dialog that asks for your permission to send your location to Google.

"If you're unable to activate My Location, you may have previously denied permission for Google Maps to use your location. Or, your browser may have experienced an error in determining your location. To have My Location work, you must first grant permission then let Maps get your location," informs Google.

Google Maps URLs include more information: the name of a place, latitude, longitude.

In other related news, the new Google Maps will replace the classic Google Maps in the near future. Here's a message displayed by Google: "Search, navigate, and explore with the new Google Maps, coming to your desktop soon."

{ Thanks, Jérôme. }

Google Maps Easter Egg for Christmas

The Pegman icon from the new Google Maps looks different: it now has a Santa hat. The classic Google Maps still shows the standard icon.

Check this Google+ album to see almost 200 outfits created when Pegman was added to the new Google Maps.

{ Thanks, Mukil. }

Custom Maps in the New Google Maps

The new version of Google Maps constantly brings back features from the classic Google Maps, which shows that it's almost ready to become the default interface. The new Google Maps shows a link for your custom maps below the search box. If you click the link, you should see a list of custom maps created with Maps Engine Lite or My Maps.

You can access your five most recent My Maps and Maps Engine maps in the new Google Maps. To quickly get to your custom maps:

* Open Google Maps and make sure you're signed-in.
* Click into the searchbox.
* Click the 'My custom maps' suggestion that appears below.
* Click the name of the map you want to view. Your map will either open in My Maps or Maps Engine.

You can also still access all of your My Maps and My Places content (available through classic Maps). To get there from the new Google Maps, click the Gear icon gear menu in the bottom right and select My Places.

Connect Google Photo Spheres

Google Maps Views has a new feature that lets you connect your photo spheres and create constellations. "By connecting your photo spheres you can create even more immersive, 360° views called constellations. You can choose to add your 'constellations' to Google Maps, so people can explore your favorite places on Maps. Keep your constellations private or share them with others on Google Maps or Views," informs Google.

Just go to your profile in Google Maps Views, select the photo spheres and click "connect images". You can create something like this:

This article has more information about changing photo sphere locations, rotating photo spheres in the right direction and connecting them. You can use multiple photo spheres to create your own Street View imagery.

Here are some examples: Google Boulder, Android Building, Carrick-A-Reed, Dunluce Castle, Asilomar Beach. Press the arrow icons to move between photo spheres.

{ via Google LatLong Blog }

Short URLs in the New Google Maps

One of the cool things about the new Google Maps is that the URL is updated automatically when you navigate the map, so you can simply copy it from the address bar. Unfortunately, the URL is still huge and a short version is often useful.

Now you can get a short URL by clicking the gear icon at the bottom of the page, selecting "share and embed map" and checking "short URL". I think the short URL should be displayed by default, since the long version can be found in the address bar. "By using a short URL, you can squeeze a long Google Maps link into fewer characters to leave more room to say what's on your mind," explains Google.

{ via +Google Maps }

Personalized Embedded Google Maps

Last week, Google announced that you can now embed maps in the new Google Maps interface. Just click the gear icon at the bottom of the page and select "embed map". You can pick from the 3 sizes that are available or click "custom size" to enter your favorite width and height.

The most interesting thing about the new embeds? "This map is built for you. When you view this map on your site, you'll see your saved places on the map. Your site's visitors won't see those saved places – they'll see a map built for them." This only happens if you see your profile icon in the top right corner of the map. You can star locations in an embedded map and they'll be saved to your Google account.

"You can embed a basic map, driving directions, or a local search into your website or blog from the new Google Maps," informs Google.

More Search Results in the New Google Maps

The new Google Maps for desktop updated the local search card and now shows the top 3 results instead of only one. You can still go to the list of top results or check the results from the map, but the card is more convenient. Google is the king of search, so people expect to find a hierarchy. The list of top results is one click away, but many people will never find it.

{ via Jérôme }

Pegman's Return and the Full-Screen Google Maps

I posted about Pegman's return to Google Maps two weeks ago, but I only got the update today. Sometimes it takes a few weeks until Google rolls out new features, sometimes it takes months (Gmail's pay button is an example).

While Pegman's return is a good news, the most striking thing about the latest Google Maps update is that the black bar has disappeared and the new navigation is placed on top of the map. The settings and help buttons have been moved to the bottom of the page.

Here are some screenshots from the "Welcome back, Pegman!" tour:

{ Thanks, Emanuele Bartolomucci. }

Pegman in the New Google Maps

Pegman is back in Google Maps. When Google unveiled the new desktop interface for Google Maps, the cute Street View guide was missing.

"To discover a world of imagery at your fingertips, look no further than Pegman – your guide through Street View – who you can find in the lower right corner of the screen. Click on Pegman, and areas with Street View imagery will light up in blue. For a street-level preview, hover over any highlighted road, then click to dive into that location. As you zoom in, you'll also see blue circles indicating where you can find user-uploaded photos, including Photo Spheres – immersive, 360º panoramas taken from land, air, and sea. Click on a yellow circle to see inside restaurants, museums, and more," informs Google.

I don't see Pegman yet, but it will roll out in the next few days or weeks. I'm sure that the yellow icon will be easy to spot once the new feature is enabled by Google.

The new Google Maps added a few other useful features: you can now preview directions by clicking "preview steps" and explore 3D bird's-eye view imagery in Earth Tours. "Wherever you see the Earth Tour icon, you can click, sit back, and get a virtual tour from a soaring angle. Dive into Boston or circle the Alps." There's also the new Google app launcher that replaces the black bar and some new icons for settings and help that are placed at the bottom of the page, next to the "Explore" box.

The features are available in the new Google Maps for desktop and Google says that "more of you will begin to see the new Maps experience," which probably means that the new Maps will start to replace the classic Google Maps. I'm sure that the classic interface will still be available for a while, at least until Google adds the missing features and improves the features that require WebGL.

{ via Google Lat Long. }

Google Maps Easter Egg for Philadelphia

Here's a cool Easter Egg: search for Philadelphia, click the map thumbnail from the right sidebar and notice that your query is replaced by "city of brotherly love", one of the nicknames of the city. "Popular nicknames for Philadelphia are Philly and The City of Brotherly Love, the latter of which comes from the literal meaning of the city's name in Greek," informs Wikipedia.

{ Thanks, Emanuele. }

Multi-Point Directions, Available in the New Google Maps

Google added one of the missing features from the new Google Maps for the desktop and now you can enter multiple destinations when searching for directions. Just click the "+" button to add more destinations".

"Whether you're running weekend errands or planning a cross-country tour, you can plot multiple destinations for your trip with ease – now available for driving, walking and biking directions. Once you've chosen a starting point, click '+' and add stops to your route by typing in the search box or clicking on the map," informs Google.

You can also reorder the destinations using drag and drop: just drag the icon next to the location you want to move.

Google Maps now shows data from your Gmail account. "Find your flight, hotel, and restaurant reservations faster right in Maps. Just search for your departing airport or dining destination, and we'll instantly show your upcoming plans." This only works in the US, just like the similar Google Search feature.

There's also an events card that's displayed if you search for places like Radio City, O2 Arena or Arena Berlin and click "upcoming events". The same data is used in the Knowledge Graph card from Google Search.

Multi-point directions was one of the most important missing features from the new Google Maps. What other features from the classic Google Maps would you like to see in the new Google Maps?

{ via Google Lat Long }