Google Maps Now Featuring Incident Reports From Waze

JAKARTA As part of an incident reporting system update, the Google Maps app is now starting to display reports from the Waze user community directly in its application. This update is part of the integration between the two navigation services managed by Google's "Geo" team.

This update was first announced last July, with a gradual launch since September. This feature allows Google Maps users to view incident reports, such as warnings of police whereabouts, which are marked as information from Waze users. In addition, Maps users can confirm the validity of the report by answering questions such as "Is there still any?" via the "Yes" or "No." button.

According to Waze, more types of data will be shared in the future, expanding collaboration between the two applications. This step aims to provide more complete and accurate map data to all users through two-way data exchange.

Google Maps, with more than 2 billion monthly active users in October 2024, is much larger than Waze, which has 151 million active users based on a late 2022 report. However, Waze is known to be superior in reporting community-based road conditions, such as accidents and congestion, while Google Maps serves as an all-purpose navigation app.

This new feature is expected to enrich the user experience of both platforms. For users, this integration offers more complete and responsive information on road conditions, such as the presence of police, accidents, or other obstacles, directly from the Waze community into Google Maps.

In addition, Waze is also testing a "Conversational Reporting" feature that allows incident reporting to be carried out more interactively, demonstrating its second commitment to continuously improving community data-based navigation services.