I don’t know if any of you have experienced it before, but there are some places in Google Maps (such as airports, shops, parks), where I am unable to add pictures to. The button to add pics is not shown.
An example where I got this issue is Mumbai International Airport:
https://goo.gl/maps/PaRGNqXZfL7gs2aR6
Does anyone have an idea how to add pictures anyway, when button isn’t present? I tried phone and desktop, no difference.
Hello @Iris240197 - as long as your photos are relevant and represent the point of interest correctly, have you tried this method? Here is another way to do so on Android (sorry if you’re utilizing iPhone, I don’t use iOS):
Go into your gallery/photos app, select the photo
Select the “share” button and select the option to add the photo to Google Maps
The photo/photos you want to share will appear in a viewable line, you will then have the option to “select a place.” When in this option, you can manually enter the name of the point of interest you are trying to add a photo to. Make sure that the place is accurate (verify by address) because many times you may enter a name and see multiple results show up.
In addition to the information given by @SP31 , please be aware that the owner of a business, or Google, can lock a place for contribution. This can happen for various reasons, like safety, or to prevent (or block) a spam attack
This is normally why the button is not visible. In the example shared by you, the most recent photo seems to be from April 2019.
Although possible, an alternative solution to circumvent a missing “photo” button is usually something to avoid, since the lack of the button is normally intentional, and we do not want to help a business against the choice of the business itself
Thanks for the additional information @ErmesT - very helpful as I did not know this! Although, this reminds me of the situation of the In-N-Out restaurant in San Francisco that had blocked access to either reviews or photos (can’t remember which one exactly it was).
@Iris240197 I just clicked on the link that you send and I have no problems adding photos. That is if I want at 2. Did you swipe over to the right to look? That function might have been hidden from view because it is over to the right.
Thank you for the feedback, @MariaNgo
Can you kindly share a screenshot? I cannot find the “Add photo” button on the POI, while I can find it in all the business around there
That is very interesting because I have just had another look and it won’t let me know. I do notice that there are now more than 22k reviews and over 60k photos. Perhaps those features have been turned off. Either that or I clicked on something else accidentally. But it did have airport photos so it is very strange
Yes @MariaNgo
That’s why I think the feature was locked and, as I said, only Google and/or the owner can lock it
That’s an interesting observation @Iris240197
I remember, I too added a review to this place in the last year.
However, the same is not accessible now!
Meanwhile, someone has created another POI with the name “International airport” at this location & people have started contributing to that.
Nevertheless, this duplicate place is going to create confusion in the minds of fresh visitors.
Thank you everyone for your responses!
@SP31 I have tried this method before, but the place simply doesn’t load on my phone when I do that. No matter how good my internet speed is.
@ErmesT Oh I was totally not aware that this can happen! I have been last year to this airport too, and that time I was able to add the pictures, that’s why I found it so strange that I couldn’t do that now.
@MariaNgo Thanks for your response. In fact, I also noticed now I can’t even add a review to the place or see the other reviews (but I anyway had already reviewed this place before).
@C_T Yeah I just noticed indeed, reviews aren’t possible either. Interesting somebody made a new one and called it a bus stop :D. I understand them though, if you made a couple pics of the place and want to write a detailed review, you want to contribute and if not possible, people find another way round. It creates confusion indeed, but the owner should think twice before blocking new (helpful) contributes to the place.
Well, honestly no, I don’t understand @Iris240197
Being a local guide is helping others and helping the business, helping a business against his choice is one of the wronged things a local guide can do. Local Guide is not about getting points. We get points because of our contribution, we don’t contribute because we get points. Creating a duplicate place, where you cannot find all the needed information, is not a way for helping others, is just a quick way for being suspended from the program
What you can do at the moment is to report the duplicate place. In this way you will really help others.
My intention is not to be rude with you, of course, but just to make as clear as possible why we are Local Guides
@ErmesT You are right that you get points by contributing, rather than contribute to get points. However, because I have contributed a lot, my reviews and photos are generally higher (like higher in the list of reviews and pictures).
So when a person did make some pictures to contribute and the persons wants to write a review, he/she might feel annoyed that this all isn’t possible and it makes them missing out on contributing AND on points, as these points are also helping to gain more views and likes.
I feel, when I get a lot of views on my pictures, reviews, I got likes on them and they are high in the list, I feel like my contributions matter. The average person will not watch all the pictures of one place and because I contribute a lot, my pictures and reviews are being shown earlier. Perhaps something psychological, but getting points makes me feel good.
Now I wouldn’t contribute to that duplicated place, but I can imagine how those people might feel when they can’t add something.
Hi @Iris240197
I know exactly what you mean, but on the other side I can understand a lot of different reason for a place to be locked. E.g. to avoid a spam attack
As you can see, in the place shared by you is not possible also to add a review, even if there are already more than 20.000 reviews (not accessible) in the POI.
BTW, if you think that there is a mistake in there, the correct way to proceed is to “send a feedback” to the theam. You will find the link by scrolling down your menu on Google Maps.
For more details you can read: Report an error on the map