Google Maps Now Lets You Poll Your Friends About Where To Eat

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By  Kate Bernot

Endless group texts are the devil's work. Especially when the subject is a deceptively simple "where should we all eat?," the conversation devolves into a 253-text disaster that is guaranteed to include the phrases "vegan options" and "can they split checks?" (Someone will always claim to be "fine with whatever." They are rarely fine with whatever.) Google Maps wants to help solve this.

Its new restaurant feature, part of a suite of new collaborative tools bundled in its latest revamp, allows you to create a list of restaurants—or other locations—and share them with friends, who can vote on the options. TechCrunch reports friends can also add their own pick to the list or remove options they don't like. The list can be shared via a link to anyone you'd like to invite.

The Google Maps update, which launched this week, also includes other features designed to help users "discover" new locations they might enjoy. Those include "For You" and "Your Match" sections that aim to tailor location recommendations based on places you've visited in the past.

If you've only been using Google Maps to get you from point A to B, these bells and whistles could seem a bit much. A handy demo over at CNBC shows, with photos of the interface, that it's really not as complicated as it sounds. For me, anything that can eliminate endless group texts is probably worth checking out.

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