Google Maps made easy: How to search and share your location even without an address

Google has announced that it is making it easier for Google Maps users to share Plus Codes with others.

Google made searching for addresses on Google Maps simpler by launching Plus Codes in India two years ago. A Plus Code is an open source solution, or feature of Google Maps, that lets you search for a given location across India and globally even without a “known” address. This comes particularly handy when you’re not absolutely sure about an address you want to locate on Google Maps. You can share Plus Codes with others too.

“Plus Codes can be used for a wide variety of reasons including communicating the venue of a temporary event, guiding emergency services to afflicted locations, and providing an identifiable location for complicated addresses,” Google says.

On Friday, Google announced that it is making it easier for Google Maps users to share Plus Codes with others. Sharing Plus Codes is now a one step (or rather, two) process, but only on Android. This means, if you have an Android phone, sharing Plus Codes with others is now way easier than it was before. Clearly, Google is looking to breathe fresh life into Plus Codes, hoping more and more people will use this very convenient feature.

What are Plus Codes?

You can say Plus Codes are a whole new kind of addressing system designed by Google for Google Maps that let you search for and share your exact location even without an address. Say, when you’re in the middle of nowhere. Plus Codeses work across India as well as globally, so technically there are no boundations.

Google’s system divides the geographical surface of the Earth into tiny tiled areas and then attributes a “unique” code to each of them. This code comprises a “6-character + City” format and can be shared and searched by anyone. Good if you have Google Maps, but if someone sends you a Plus Code, you can also look it up in Google Search to find the precise location.

Plus Codes are open source which means third-party developers are free to incorporate them inside their apps and services.

How to use Plus Codes?

• Tap the blue dot that represents your current location on Google Maps to access your Plus Code. You can choose any other random location too.
• Share your location
• On receiving a Plus Code, users need to simply enter it into Google Search or Google Maps, mobile or desktop, to show the location.