Grasping the magnitude of Google Maps

Google Maps tips & tricks
, ,
1

Google rarely publishes information about the size and magnitude of the Google Maps operation.

But I found some public statements that might be of interest to Local Guides.

When someone is having problems with hidden reviews, complain that their road edits are not getting approved, or wondering why seemingly small bugs in Maps can take a long time to get fixed, the following might help putting things in perspektive.

In 2019 Google stated:

Google Maps users contribute more than 20 million pieces of information every day - that’s more than 200 contributions every second.

Source: 9 things to know about Google’s maps data: Beyond the Map

I feel the numbers might be much higher in 2024. So, in my perspective, it is not surprising that Google has automated the process of approving and removing contributions rather than having people do it manually.

In May of 2023 Sundar Pichai from Google presented this crazy fact during his presentation at the Google I/O '23:

Google Maps provides 20 billion kilometers of directions every day.
Google Maps provides 20 billion kilometers of directions every day.803Ă—637 72.4 KB

Source: Video clip

This number is a lot higher than the distance Maps users travel, but still. I’m impressed.

In November 2023:

Over 300 million contributors share their experiences on Google Maps each year, helping people get the latest information for more than 250 million places around the world.

Source: How Google Maps protects against fake content

How many Local Guides are we?

Some years back, we were told that there are 150+ million Local Guides. This figure had not been repeated officially since. So I doubt all are active contributors. But still, we could be the biggest volunteer network on this planet. When I worked for an NGO, we sometimes tried to calculate the hypothetical value of the hours put in by volunteers. Couldn’t it be fun to do that exercise for the Local Guides community?

In 2023:

Google blocked or removed over 170 million policy-violating reviews — over 45% more than in 2022.

Improvements to video moderation algorithms, like detecting fake overlaid phone numbers caught 44 million policy-violating videos.

Source: How machine learning keeps contributed content helpful.

No wonder that some authentic reviews get removed as collateral damage! But I believe Google needs to do a lot more to not hide perfectly good reviews from honest LGs.

Dealyed contribution stats

Sometimes Local Guides complain that their contribution stats and badges are not updated in real time. This is because this is not critical information like showing millions of photos and calculating navigation routes and recalculating them when needed. When did you last have to wait for Maps photos to load or the navigation voice delaying your travel because it needed time to recalculate your route?

These are just some random statements I found fascinating and some of my own reflections. Feel free to criticize or add more interesting facts with links to the source in the discussion below.

33 Likes
2

Thank you for sharing this valuable information with us. It greatly inspires us to contribute even more to Google Maps. By doing so, we are making our planet and Google Maps more accessible to everyone through accurate and helpful information.

4 Likes
3

Really well written, @MortenCopenhagen . I believe most of the users don’t understand this part, because it’s so huge that we can’t visualise it.
When Google Maps tell me that I’m in the top 10% of Natural Area reviewers I feel that I am in an exclusive circle (like other millions of people :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:)
Same when we complain for a not applied edit, and we would like to “talk to someone in Google about my edit”.
Obviously Google Maps has different priorities, and I agree that the first one must be navigation, and not updating the number of views of our photos

8 Likes
4

Many thanks for sharing this important information, dear @MortenCopenhagen sir.

3 Likes
5

very informative post indeed @MortenCopenhagen
Thank you for sharing with us.

2 Likes
6

@MortenCopenhagen , thanks for informative post on Google Maps, on daily basis attempts by the Local Guides on Google Maps. The total numbers of Local Guides Community might have crossed over 250 million by now . There no exact figure released by any real source. But we are just guessing about it . But Google is much sought after a technology giant of the planet.

4 Likes
7

Big numbers indeed @MortenCopenhagen. And even bigger number of LGs suggested by @ShekharMuz_5. I’d like to know the real number, but my recent experience confirms how ambiguous it is.

I consider myself to he a Local Guide from 2019 which is the date of the oldest photo on my profile, but when Google recently congratulated me on 9 years, i checked and found emails dating back to 2015 for some few obscure contributions that caught Google’s attention.

So I was part of the statistics for 4 inactive years on the Local Guides platform.

But, getting back to the point of this thread, i am one who is “complaining that their road edits are not getting approved”. All of my roads for November are still “pending” despite the fact that many of them were drawn in places that previously earned me quick approvals.

2 Likes
8

Yes, you are not the only one facing issues with road edits not getting approved.

1 Like
9

Agreed with @ErmesT , this was a stimulating read, especially for someone like me who does not do well with numbers but I feel the numbers absolutely help tell the story here and provide context into how massive the ecosystem is. At the core of Maps are the essential functions - helping us get to where we need to get to and helping us learn more about the places we seek. That said, it is understandable that there may be priorities for the teams on the backend when each and every one of us may feel like an issue plaguing our experience should be top of mind. And while in some cases, particularly for wide scale issues, it is - I think considering how far Maps has come in the last near decade alone, I’ll take my stats not updating to the very minute or my edits taking a while longer, especially when I’m not lost in the middle of nowhere :sweat_smile:.

Thanks for this excellent compilation @MortenCopenhagen !

2 Likes
10

I also have many roads added in November that are currently waiting for approval.

But I also have many roads added in the last few days that were approved the day after they were added.

1 Like
11

Wonderful insights as usual your post are always informative.
Keep inspiring.
Regards
Anil6969