Google Maps now lets you add ‘missing places’ including points-of-interest directly from your phone

Google is now letting users add missing places and points-of-interest to Maps directly from within the mobile apps.

To access the feature, you simply tap anywhere on a map, and bring up the full details of the address. Hit the ‘Add a Missing Place’ link, and you’ll be able to complete Place Name, Category, Phone Number, and Website.

In terms of which categories are included, well, pretty much anything and everything – including Bars, Shops, Cinemas, Schools, Parks and Hospitals. Before you hit ‘Send’, Google notifies you that you’ll receive updates on the status of these changes to the associated Gmail address, and they may also be published under your account on Google Map Maker.

Map Maker is Google’s browser-based platform that lets users create and suggest changes for Google Maps and Google Earth – it’s basically crowdsourced editing.

Though Google doesn’t yet have a dedicated Map Maker app for mobile, it is working on a version for Android at the moment. Though by letting users add new places directly from within Google Maps, this reduces the friction and makes it easier for users to add that new bistro, boulangerie or bar that’s just cropped up in their neighborhood.

Related read: Google expands Maps Gallery so everyone can find, create and share customized maps