Have you ever turned up at a restaurant only to find out that it closed twenty minutes earlier?
Well your stomach needn’t suffer the same disappointment ever again thanks to a clever new Google Maps feature.
The search engine giant has updated its Android app to tell users if they’re navigating to a location that’s closed.
What’s more, it can also work out if the location will be closed by the time you’re going to arrive.
For instance, let’s say your girlfriend just broke up with you. You want to make a woeful trip to Tesco and drown your sorrows in Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough, but the store closes in fifteen minutes.
If the journey takes twenty minutes,
You still have the option to continue navigating if you want, however. Maybe if you bang on the shop windows, they might take pity and accommodate your late-night emotional breakdown.
Related: Best Android Apps 2015
The update has now live and available to download in the latest version of Google Maps on the Play Store.
We’d issue a word of warning, however – Google Maps is prone to retaining incorrect data about opening and closing times of shops, restaurants, and other locations.
If you have full and unwavering trust in Google that’s fine, but we’d suggest you double check on an outlet’s website before cancelling your next visit.
What new feature would you like to see on Google Maps? Let us know in the comments.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.