Google My Maps gets long-awaited makeover

Google My Maps promised to be the ultimate solution for planning hikes, mapping out daily walks or commutes, and sharing personalized road trips with friends. The app lets you place markers, add commentary, and create layers for a very creative and individual experience.

And all this would have been great, except Google basically abandoned the app. My Maps hasn’t seen an update since the bygone days of 2014, an incredible amount of time in the app world. Some even thought My Maps would quietly slip away into the sweet oblivion of discontinuation, but it seems Google isn’t quite done with their personalized map companion just yet. This week they rolled out the first update in nearly two years, and it’s a doozy.

My Maps has been overhauled completely from the ground up. Changes span the UI, which had started to feel dated, and vastly improved performance. Google has added a welcome guide that introduces new users to all of My Maps capabilities, and you can now view photos and videos added on the web. Getting directions to saved points is now a snap, and Street View imagery has been expanded to many more locations. The update is now live in the Play Store, so if you want to give it a spin, just click the button below to get your download started.

What do you think of the resurrection of Google My Maps? Was this an app you ever used? Will you be considering giving it a shot now that it’s clearly not on Google’s chopping block? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!