Two billion people do not have a classic address in the form of street name, house number and municipality. You can indicate locations with latitude and longitude coordinates, but Google Maps prefers to use a simpler system: the plus code. How can you look up a place without an address in Google Maps with this?
Plus codes are not just a solution for location determination without address data or cumbersome coordinates; with such a code you can also indicate specific places at the same address. In this way, for example, you can locate different entrances to a large building. You can use a plus code for emergency help or to indicate where deliveries should go.
The codes are a combination of letters and numbers and have the same length as a telephone number. An example is 9C5M8QQ7+V8. The first four characters define an area of ​​100 by 100 kilometers. Behind it is a local code that covers a square area of ​​14 by 14 meters within the grid.
Locations that are close to each other have similar plus codes. Certain characters such as 1 and I are excluded as they can cause confusion. For ease of use, the code is often shortened to just six or four characters, in combination with a city name, for example GCMJ+H8 Roosendaal, The Netherlands.
on desktop
In the desktop version of Google Maps, you click on the location for which you want to know the plus code and you will see a cross formed by five points in the left column. The data next to it, that is the plus code. You don’t have to write it down; click on that code and the button Plus Code Copy appears.
Plus codes can also be pasted into the Google search engine. This makes it very easy to locate someone quickly. The link to the search result takes you directly to Google Maps.
Via smartphone
Also with your smartphone you tap a pin and then you get the plus code. You’ll see the plus icon below the coordinates. Tap it to copy the code to the clipboard. To share your current location with your mobile using a plus code, tap the blue dot that indicates your own location.
Then tap Share your location and then select the person you want to let know where you are. By the way, Google made this system open source, so that developers can build new applications on it.
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